Rep. Ashford:
Defunding Planned Parenthood puts politics over people
Bill will defund county health
departments, reduce access to healthcare for Ohio women
State Rep. Mike Ashford
(D-Toledo) recently stood in opposition to House Bill 294 (HB
294), which passed the Ohio House during a concurrence vote
yesterday along largely partisan lines. The legislation will
implement restrictions that redirect public funds away from
providers who perform or promote legal abortions in Ohio.
The bill comes amid a national right-wing effort to defund
Planned Parenthood, a move that could leave thousands of
women in the Buckeye State with limited or no access to
affordable preventative healthcare.
“On a national level,
Republicans have politicized Planned Parenthood and created
the perception that the health care facility performs
illegal abortions,” said Ashford. “So far, no investigation
conducted by Congress or state officials has shown evidence
that Planned Parenthood illegally performs abortions.”
In Ohio, Planned Parenthood
provides comprehensive healthcare to some 80,000 patients
each year. By defunding Planned Parenthood, the state is
defunding sex education programs, HIV/AIDS testing
procedures, infant mortality prevention programs, breast and
cervical cancer screenings and domestic violence education
programs. Ultimately, House Bill 294 puts tens of thousands
of women at risk by stripping away federal grant money to
these essential life saving health care programs and
procedures.
“Instead pursuing a
politically motivated agenda that cuts off access to
healthcare for tens of thousands of Ohio women, we should be
focused on supporting Ohio families and taking action to
lower our state’s unacceptably high infant mortality rate,”
said Ashford.
The GOP-controlled House's
passage of House Bill 294 comes amidst nationwide Republican
push to defund Planned Parenthood after heavily edited,
politically motivated videos surfaced appearing to show the
organization discussing the sale of fetal tissue for
research. The videos have since been widely discredited, and
two Republican led investigations into Ohio's Planned
Parenthood also showed the organization's activities are
only in furtherance of Ohio women's access to comprehensive
healthcare.
Recently, Attorney General
Mike DeWine accused Planned Parenthood of illegally
disposing of fetal remains in landfills. Independent
investigators later discovered that the state of Ohio
contacts with the same disposal company used by Planned
Parenthood, and follows the same disposal procedures when
handling a miscarriage. No unlawful activity was found
following the investigation.
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