INDIANA'S REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR WANTS TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT - SO THE WOMEN OF INDIANA WILL JUST HAVE TO SUFFER

Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana said Friday that he would sign a bill cutting off Medicaid financing for Planned Parenthood.

So much for his recent previous statements indicating his preference for setting aside social issues to concentrate on the serious issues facing the nation. Daniels's announcement is widely viewed as a bid to curry favor among social conservatives in preparation for a run at the Republican nomination.

“Clearly, Governor Daniels would rather play politics with women’s health than show leadership and fiscal responsibility in rejecting a bill that will ultimately cost the state millions in federal funding,” said Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

The decision would leave thousands of poor residents of Indiana, who use Planned Parenthood’s 28 health facilities in the state, with nowhere to go for a range of women’s services, from breast cancer screening to birth control.

Republican state senator — Sen. Vaneta Becker — actually noted an all-too-common hypocrisy in Republican anti-choice efforts:

Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, said she didn’t understand why legislators would take a step of reducing women’s access to health service at [the same time] the state is cutting funding toward programs for mentally disabled children.

“If we are so concerned about pregnancy before children are born, why are we not as concerned after children are born?” Becker said.

In a recent interview, Becker said that a lot of people share her view but are too intimidated by the political climate to voice their opposition. Noting the state and federal laws already banning abortion funding, she said the bill “is an attempt to politicize the issue.” In doing so, Republicans will deny thousands of Hoosier woman access to vital health services, she said.

"The government funding in question is about prevention. None of it supports abortion. Not a penny.  It pays for basic health care services such as Pap tests that screen for cancer, breast exams, STD testing and treatment and birth control. If Planned Parenthood of Indiana were not here for the more than 23,000 currently served through the funding, the outcomes would be tragic – more unintended pregnancies (and most assuredly more abortions) and more disease. Women trust us. Simply put, we do it better and for less, and we have the capacity and skill to see more patients than any other provider. There is a reason we have been around for nearly 80 years – we are good at caring for women and men in a respectful, private, affordable manner."

Betty Cockrum

President and CEO

Planned Parenthood of Indiana

Planned Parenthood of Indiana served the reproducti­ve healthcare needs of 85,000 men and women last year. Seventy-fo­ur percent of their patients are at or below 150% of the poverty level. You are an idiot, Governor, if you think that closing Planned Parenthood in Indiana will be beneficial to the people of Indiana or get you elected President.

What we wonder is how Governor Daniels can look himself in the mirror, his daughters and wife in the eye or sleep at night?