Bob McDonnell’s Pro-life Betrayals
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I. PROMISE TO DE-FUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD:
During his campaign for governor in October of 2009, Laura Ingraham asked Bob McDonnell “Would you use the (governor’s) veto pen to ensure that Virginian’s tax dollars are not used to fund Planned Parenthood or abortion?”
Bob McDonnell answered, “Yah, I’ve said that I would do that.” (10-28-09)
Hear McDonnell’s promise here: http://familypolicy.net/files/ingraham-mcdonnell-pp-promise.mp3
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Bob McDonnell
II. BROKEN PROMISE TO DE-FUND:
February 2010:
The governor released his budget amendments. He specified no funds could be used for abortion SERVICES, but did NOT preclude money from going to abortion PROVIDERS. To see the wording he used in the budget amendment, find page 54 at this link: http://familypolicy.net/files/govrechb30.pdf#page=54
By crafting his amendment the way he did, he gets to claim he banned taxpayer-funded abortions, but he didn’t because he knowingly constructed language that allows tax dollars to flow to abortion providers – – so long as the money is spent on something OTHER than abortions. This is simply a shell game that frees up money from elsewhere in Planned Parenthood’s budget to pay for abortion services. As Virginians for Life puts it, McDonnell’s amendment is “SMOKE and MIRRORS, since there is no annual audit of Planned Parenthood and obviously, any money going toward Planned Parenthood will displace other funds that can be used to finance abortions.”
June 2010:
During a follow-up interview with McDonnell, Laura Ingraham explains the governor’s amendment is useless because of the way it is written, to which McDonnell replies ”And that certainly may be.” Listen here: http://familypolicy.net/files/ingraham-mcdonnell-pp-followup.mp3
It’s ridiculous for McDonnell to say his amendment MAY be useless because he KNOWS it is. He is an experienced attorney, and he was (for several years) a principled pro-life legislator who used to fight against these kinds of technical games played by pro-abortion lobbyists. He is not nearly as naive as he would like pro-life citizens to think he is.
Taxpayer dollars can still flow to abortion providers out of the state’s general fund, as they have for years. For proof, read the letter on this topic from the governor’s Health and Human Services Secretary, which was provided in response to a recent “Freedom of Information Act”: http://familypolicy.net/files/PP-foia.pdf.
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III. CREATING NEW FUNDING STREAM FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD:
April 2010:
McDonnell signed into law a new “TRUST WOMEN RESPECT CHOICE” specialty license plate bill with all the funds going to Planned Parenthood. This is a new and permanent source of state funding for PP since tax dollars will be used to make the plates and process the funds. When he signed that legislation, he amended the language to prevent the money from funding abortion services, but that is the same shell game explained above.
Virginians for Life sent out an alert to their supporters, explaining:
McDonnell could have used the Governor’s veto pen to kill the bill or reinstate that amendment and allow the money to go to Crisis Pregnancy Centers.
Instead, Governor McDonnell did amend the bill slightly. He threw another meaningless bone to pro-lifers by stipulating that the money cannot be used to “provide abortion services.” Then, Governor McDonnell signed the bill into law, sending all the proceeds to Virginia’s largest abortion provider: Planned Parenthood.While they are not tax dollars per-say, Virginia government employees will still be the ones distributing Virginia license plates, and processing money through Virginia’s government offices before it is sent to Planned Parenthood. Rather than give Planned Parenthood tax dollars directly, the state is helping them to raise money through the sale of state license plates.
Since this is not a budget item, it doesn’t have to be renewed year after year. This is an entirely NEW and PERMANENT source of Virginia funding for Planned Parenthood, signed into law by our own, ”pro-life” Governor Bob McDonnell.
Planned Parenthood sent out an update hailing this as a “VICTORY,” and well they should.
Every time you see a “Trust Women/Respect Choice” license plate as you are driving down Virginia’s roads, remember that Planned Parenthood is thanking “pro-life” Governor Bob McDonnell for that new source of Virginia revenue.
Bob McDonnell is a typical politician trying to please both sides of the aisle and hopes that you and I are naive enough to buy it.
http://virginiansforlife.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/tell-bob-mcdonnell-to-apologize-for-breaking-his-promise/ IV. JUSTIFYING TAXPAYER FUNDING OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD:
McDonnell said in an interview that he did not cut all of Planned Parenthood’s state funds because it provides other services, such as counseling. He said it would not have been “proper” to cut off those tax dollars.