Planned Parenthood blasts bill headed to Kasich

“We’ve seen the dire consequences for women, men and young people when politicians block access to care at Planned Parenthood health centers”, Planned Parenthood Action Fund president Cecile Richards told Think Progress.

John Kasich, who has positioned himself as one of the more moderate Republican presidential contenders, plans to sign a bill that strips government funding from Planned Parenthood clinics in his state, his spokesman told HuffPost on Wednesday. A recent study released by Texas-based researchers found that defunding Planned Parenthood clinics leaves some poor women unable to access the most effective forms of birth control, including IUDs and implants.

HB 294 was introduced after video recordings released previous year showed Planned Parenthood employees allegedly discussing the sale of body parts from aborted fetuses. Kasich has said he will not veto the bill.

In November, the Ohio House passed the legislation, 62-30 and voted today to concur with minor changes the Senate made to the bill.

The legislation requires the Ohio Department of Health to ensure public funds are being used for their intended goal – the legislation lists breast and cervical cancer, HIV/AIDS initiatives and other specific programs – and not for abortions. In December, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine revealed that in Ohio, Planned Parenthood locations are contracting with companies that dump fetal remains in landfills.

Planned Parenthood said the bill would hinder lower-income women’s access to testing for sexually transmitted diseases, HIV tests and well-baby programs.

The legislation would prohibit such funds from going to entities that perform or promote abortions, their affiliates and those that contract with an entity that performs abortions.

A member of the New York Police Department stands outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in the Manhattan borough of New York, November 28, 2015. As Ohio Governor, Kasich has signed every abortion and women’s reproductive health provision that has landed on his desk since he took office in 2011.

In 2013, Kasich signed a budget that stripped roughly $1.4 million in family planning funds from Planned Parenthood, required abortion providers to perform ultrasounds on patients seeking abortions and allowed rape crisis centers to be stripped of their public funds if they referred victims to abortion providers, among other measures.

Rep. Kathleen Clyde, a Democrat, said the bill would be counterproductive.

Opponents countered that there are not sufficient locations around the state providing contraception and other health care services now offered by Planned Parenthood.