Ohio G.O.P. Lawmakers Push to Restrict Funds to Planned Parenthood

Ohio legislators are weighing a budget provision that would tightly limit Planned Parenthood clinics from receiving state-distributed federal money for family-planning and contraceptive services, according to Bloomberg.

The provision, similar to controversial new regulations in Texas that have restricted funding to several Planned Parenthood affiliates, was added to a fast-track budget bill last week by Republicans, who control the Ohio legislature.

The measure would put Planned Parenthood last in line to receive the federal dollars, giving priority to public-health agencies and providers that do not perform abortions. Planned Parenthood groups received about 38 percent of the $4.3-million in U.S. family-planning funds Ohio doled out last year.

“We don’t want to send women to an abortion-minded clinic when we can send women all of these other places that provide comprehensive medical care,” Stephanie Krider, legislative director for Ohio Right to Life, said in testifying for the provision at an April 19 hearing.