Should the nation’s largest abortion business be a government-approved charity? The state of Arizona doesn’t think so.
Earlier this year, the state dropped Planned Parenthood from the list of approved charities in its employee charitable giving program, state news agencies report.
Daniel Scarpinato, a spokesman for Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, told the Star Tribune that the governor “has made it clear that the state of Arizona should not be involved in facilitating contributions to a controversial organization of this kind.”
SIGN THE PETITION! Congress Must De-Fund Planned Parenthood Immediately
Planned Parenthood previously was included on the list of hundreds of charitable organizations that Arizona employees could donate to through their state paychecks. This year, however, the State Employee Charitable Campaign Committee, under the pro-life governor’s leadership, rejected Planned Parenthood’s application – just after undercover videos were released showing top Planned Parenthood officials discussing the trafficking of aborted babies’ body parts.
Some of the money state employees donated to Planned Parenthood in previous years was, in fact, used for abortions, Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Jodi Liggett admitted to the Star Tribune.
In 2014, the abortion business’s Arizona affiliate received about $7,250 from state employees, according to the report.
Minus Planned Parenthood, the state employee charitable giving program lists 485 organizations that are eligible for employee pledges, including groups that focus on health care, disabilities, hunger, housing, religion and military veterans, according to the report.
In July, LifeNews.com reported that Arizona joined a growing list of states that launched investigations into allegations concerning Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted babies’ body parts.
At the time, Gov. Ducey said: “The footage released by The Center for Medical Progress regarding the alleged sale and trafficking of aborted fetal tissue and body parts by Planned Parenthood is horrifying and has no place in a civilized society. I am calling on the Department of Health Services to conduct a thorough review of the law and immediately promulgate emergency rules designed to prohibit the illegal sale of any tissue from an unborn child.”
In September, state Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed papers in court with a federal judge in California to obtain additional information.
As LifeNews previously reported, the Planned Parenthood videos have sparked outrage across the country from grassroots activists and stay-at-home-moms to lawmakers and even presidential candidates. In the first video, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, senior director of medical research for Planned Parenthood, admits that Planned Parenthood charges per-specimen for baby body parts, uses altered abortion procedures in order to get intact body parts, and is aware of their own liability for doing so and takes steps to cover it up.
ACTION: Contact Governor Ducey and thank him for kicking out Planned Parenthood.
