Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Governor, John Kasich has signed a bill on Sunday that would strip $1.3 million funding from Planned Parenthood Funding. The legislation was signed by Kasich despite calls for veto by a number of Democrats and various tabloids. Series of protests were held while Kasich was campaigning in South Carolina last week.
The signing of the bill comes a day after Kasich's weak performance in South Carolina's party. Supporters of the bill claimed that Planned Parenthood Funding will be affected as the legislation bans funds that go to organizations that support or perform abortions. It is clear that the bill is pushing that the fund will go to entities that do not perform abortions. Kasich was criticized by many claiming that he's doing that for the sake of his political career and not for the sake of the people's healthcare, according to NBC 4i.
"It's clear Kasich has no regard for women's health or lives, and will stop at nothing to block health care for the tens of thousands of Ohioans who rely on Planned Parenthood," Organization's president Cecile Richards said in a statement. She added that the bill will have a distressing effect on women in Ohio.
Planned Parenthood supports women in Ohio for STD testing, screenings for breast cancer, and programs working to prevent violence against women. Federal and state laws already bans taxpayer money to fund abortions except for the cases of incest, rape and life of the mother, NBC News claims. It was not the first time that Kasich was condemned on the issue of stripping Planned Parenthood Funding. While campaigning in New Hampshire throughout the summer, fall and winter, the Ohio governor has consistently said that he doesn't support funding for such organizations because they discredited themselves.
"The fact is that Governor Kasich has been a strong advocate for women's health issues by helping 260,000 women gain access to health care coverage, pledging a 3-1 state match for a fund for breast and cervical cancer screenings, strengthening programs for sexual assault prevention, funding rape crisis centers for the first time in Ohio's history, helping more women get access to childcare and protecting women from human trafficking," his spokesman Joe Andrews said in a statement.
The legislative bill of Kasich follows the incident over the recorded videos claiming that the entity sold fetal tissues to researchers for a profit, TIME reports. There are also reports alleging that aborted fetuses in Ohio State were thrown in the landfills. To address the issues, Planned Parenthood had already filed a lawsuit to safeguard abortion access in the state. It is said that there are three out of the 28 Planned Parenthood branches in Ohio that performs abortion.
Planned Parenthood has strongly dismissed claims they have fetal donation program in the state as it is illegal. Kasich is a firm advocate against abortions and supporting agencies performing the procedure. In 2011, he passed a law that prohibits abortion.
