State and federal officials in Ohio on Tuesday announced they will seek to defund and investigate Planned Parenthood in the wake of controversial videos depicting organization officials.
At an anti-abortion rally at the Ohio Statehouse, state Rep. Bill Patmon, a Cleveland Democrat, said he’s co-sponsoring new legislation that would cut off all state funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers that is used for other services.
While Ohio already prohibits state funding from being used to pay for abortions, Patmon said his bill, co-sponsored by Butler County Republican Rep. Margaret Conditt, would ensure the $1.3 million per year given to Planned Parenthood by the state isn’t co-mingled with money used for abortions.
State lawmakers in 2013 already moved Planned Parenthood to the back of the line to receive federal family planning funds.
Patmon said the issue is especially important to African-Americans, as 63 percent of the 5,499 abortions performed in Cuyahoga County in 2013 involved black women.
“You hear a lot of demonstrations across the country now about Black Lives Matter,” Patmon said. “Well, they skipped one place – they should be in front of Planned Parenthood.”
Also Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman’s office announced the Republican has joined other senators in calling on the U.S. attorney general and Department of Health and Human Services to investigate whether Planned Parenthood broke federal law.
The House Freedom Caucus, headed by U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a Champaign County Republican, called on Congress in a news release Tuesday to cease all federal funding of Planned Parenthood.
Tuesday’s Statehouse rally follows the release of three undercover videos by anti-abortion activists with what they claim are Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of fetal body parts to medical researchers.
Planned Parenthood says the videos were selectively edited to give a false impression and that their organization is only reimbursed to cover expenses.
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