Ohio House passed a bill on Wednesday that would block the state and federal funds for groups that are performing abortions. This means Planned Parenthood will be defunded and their $1.3M fund that is being annually used for HIV testing, pre-natal care, and other programs, would be chopped off.
In a report by Reuters, Governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich is expected to sign the bill ahead of the presidential primary on February 20 in South Carolina. The bill called House Bill 294 has already been passed by the Senate in the past and the Ohio House voted 59-32. The bill will be blocking women's health providers, that give abortions or groups that refer patients to such health providers, from accepting funds from state and federal grants.
There are 20 clinics of Planned Parenthood in Ohio, two of which provide abortions and all the 18 others provide abortion referral. After the announcement about the bill being passed, Planned Parenthood said that it would affect the lower-income women's access to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases, HIV tests, and well-baby programs.
The Blade also reported that the bill is being criticized by many. It is said that Kasich is using the bill signing for his advancement in the presidential race. Presidential Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, challenged her opponent to veto the bill. Aside from Clinton, Kellie Copeland executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, an abortion rights advocacy group, said that the bill is just for Kasich to bolster his votes from anti-choice voters in South Carolina.
Joe Andrews, a spokesman for Kasich, said in a statement amid the backlash of the bill being passed: "The Ohio Department of Health had already stopped awarding state dollars to Planned Parenthood and they were kicked to the back of the line for the federal government's family planning grants that the department administers. This bill further reinforces Ohio's policies."
The bill comes in the heels of the issues that Planned Parenthood is facing. Life News reported that Planned Parenthood has been accused of selling aborted babies and their body parts in several states.
A strong number of Ohio residents want Planned Parenthood do be defunded and the money used for such is being requested to be redirected to community health centers instead.
