New Jersey Democrats Trying to Force Taxpayers to Fund Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Jun 16, 2017   |   1:11PM   |   Trenton, NJ

New Jersey Democrats renewed their efforts this week to force taxpayers to fund the abortion chain Planned Parenthood.

Gov. Chris Christie repeatedly has stood against pro-abortion Democrats and defended life in the state. In 2016, Christie vetoed a bill that would have sent $7.5 million to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business. Christie, who is pro-life, vetoed Planned Parenthood funding five times before he ran for re-election in New Jersey, a state that is not known as a bastion of conservatism.

This week, state Democratic leaders said they plan to try again to override the governor’s veto and send taxpayer funding to the abortion chain, the Observer reports.

New Jersey Right to Life Executive Director Marie Tasy urged pro-lifers to call their state lawmakers and tell them not to fund the abortion group with their tax dollars. She said a vote is scheduled for Monday, June 19.

Planned Parenthood is “pressuring legislators to pass legislation that will force you, the taxpayer, to use your hard earned money to fund their abortion business,” Tasy said in a letter to supporters. “It is imperative that you take action today …”

Tasy said abortion activists are using misleading claims to lobby for millions of dollars from New Jersey taxpayers.

“Planned Parenthood is claiming that STDs went up in NJ and cases of breast and cervical cancer went up as well since their funding has been cut,” she said. However, “… the Director of [New Jersey] Planned Parenthood, Casey Olesko was quoted in a recent South Jersey news article admitting that there is ‘no causal link’ between the spike in diseases and the closing of health centers in the state.”

That has not stopped lawmakers and abortion activists from repeating the misleading claim.

During a rally with abortion activists Thursday, state Senate President Steve Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald and other lawmakers promised to continue fighting for Planned Parenthood, according to the report.

They also are banking on hopes that a pro-abortion governor will replace Christie when his term ends in January.

Here’s more from the report:

Sweeney — a supporter of the override in the state Senate — said that, even if Democrats are unsuccessful in this attempt, the measure will be quickly introduced to New Jersey’s next governor. Democratic nominee Phil Murphy has said he will support women’s health initiatives in the state.

“When people say federally qualified health centers are good enough, that’s bull,” Sweeney said.

Actually, federally qualified health centers outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities by more than 20 to one across the nation, and provide even more health care services than Planned Parenthood. The only thing they do not do is abortions.

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The taxpayer dollars that used to go to Planned Parenthood now fund these health centers in New Jersey, ensuring women have access to quality care.

“Everything from cancer screenings and mammograms for women to prostate cancer screenings for men to diabetes treatment and to everything in between that can lead folks to greater healthcare available to them and can lead to greater health results for each and every person who walks through the door,” Gov. Christie said previously.

There are many reasons why the state defunded Planned Parenthood. Several years ago, the abortion group was found engaging in fraudulent Medicaid activity in New Jersey.

The U.S. Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services uncovered a consistent problem with New Jersey-based family planning clinics run by the Planned Parenthood abortion business. A government audit found that they were improperly billing Medicaid for services that did not qualify as family planning.

An initial audit revealed New Jersey improperly received federal reimbursement at the enhanced 90 percent rate for 160,955 prescription drug claims that were billed as family planning, but did not qualify as family planning services. A letter from the Inspector General to New Jersey officials recommended that New Jersey repay $2,219,746 to the federal government.

The state eventually did return the money to the federal government.

Efforts to defund the abortion chain have been growing ever since undercover videos revealed that Planned Parenthood could be illegally selling aborted babies’ body parts. Earlier this year, a U.S. Congressional investigation into the matter concluded with lawmakers recommended that Congress defund Planned Parenthood.

ACTION: To contact New Jersey state legislators, click here or call 1-800-792-8630 during regular business hours to obtain the names and contact information for state legislators.