On February 18th, the New Hampshire Legislature defeated HB 677, which would have prevented Planned Parenthood from receiving public funding. Currently, New Hampshire law prohibits public funding for abortions except in cases of incest, rape and when the mother’s life is in danger; however, Rep. Warren Groen’s (R-Strafford) bill would removed all of the abortion giant’s state money.
Rep. Groen said, “It’s not aimed specifically at Planned Parenthood, but if you are going to shoot at gorillas, you’re probably going to hit the 800-pound one. I’d love to see them go out of business. That would be great. But it’s not an effort at that.”
The lawmakers pushing the measure were questioning the approximately $1.25 million the state provides Planned Parenthood for health services.
“How is this used?” said Rep. Kathy Souza, R-Manchester. “Not directly funding abortion. Enabling.” That view proved to be in the minority. Opponents of the measure said the bill would attack the autonomy of women, specifically poor women.
In the end, the proposal was defeated 216-142. Officials from Planned Parenthood said the legislative battle was about much more than abortion.
“These are funds that are used for critical services like family planning, cancer screenings and other types of well-women care, as well as services for men in New Hampshire,” said Jennifer Frizzell of Planned Parenthood New Hampshire.
CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!
Planned Parenthood said 6 percent of the people that use its services are there for an abortion, but opponents claim the way the statistics are gathered don’t give a true measure.
Rep. Groen blames the failure of the bill on pro-abortion Republicans.
He said, “The Republicans in name only (RINO’s) are in charge, and there are a lot of liberal, pro-abortion Republicans in the leadership. They didn’t support my bill, and in many cases they opposed it. To be in the majority and suffer these kinds of defeats is very difficult.” Unfortunately, 76 Republicans opposed the legislation.
As LifeNews previously reported, Planned Parenthood’s 2013-2014 annual report revealed that they performed 327,653 abortions in 2013, maintaining their position as the largest abortion business in America. They also raked in $305.3 million and continued to receive over a half-billion dollars in taxpayer dollars. Their breast cancer screening services dropped by 17% and their prenatal services by 4%; and for every adoption referral they provided, they performed 174 abortions. Overall, Planned Parenthood reported more than $127 million in excess revenue, and more than $1.4 billion in net assets.
