· April 19, 2012

Testimony on House proposal to de-fund Planned Parenthood

On Tuesday, the Ohio House Finance and Appropriations Committee inserted language at the discretion of Chairman Ron Amstutz into the mid-biennium budget bill, HB 487, that would effectively eliminate any pass-through funding flowing from the State of Ohio to Planned Parenthood. Not only would this prohibit the organization from receiving over $1.4 million in federal Title X family planning funds, but it eliminates federal funding for the only providers of family planning in thirteen Ohio counties. Below, we provide links to the complete written testimony that was offered by two strong advocates for Planned Parenthood in Ohio.

First, Dr. Grant Morrow III—veteran pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and President of Planned Parenthood of Central Ohio—offered compelling testimony yesterday on the value of Planned Parenthood, particularly in reducing the number of unwanted teen pregnancies. In his practice, Dr. Morrow has seen first hand what happens when kids have kids, and spoke about the devastating impact on the economic future of both parent and child. Read Dr. Morrow’s Testimony on HB487
And, in this morning’s hearing, Jaime Miracle, Policy Director for NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio spoke about the specifics of the current proposal incorporated into HB487. She explains that this it will affect far more organizations than Planned Parenthood, eliminating funding for the only providers of family planning services in thirteen Ohio counties. Read Jaime Miracle’s testimony on HB487

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