Seitz: No apologies for vote to defund

State Sen. William J. Seitz is a Green Township Republican.

Amy Whalen’s Nov. 17 pro-abortion apologia for continued state funding of Planned Parenthood erroneously accuses me of basing my vote to defund that organization on misinformation. Unfortunately, her column resorts to doublespeak to defend the indefensible.

True, Planned Parenthood in Ohio does not sell baby body parts – I never claimed otherwise. Its national affiliates, however, have done so. The left claims that these affiliates are not selling baby body parts, but rather receiving compensation for services provided incident to the transfer of fetal tissue. Linguistic gymnastics aside, the plain English translation is “selling baby body parts.” Planned Parenthood Ohio cannot run away from the national brand it has chosen to operate under any more than the local Subway could run away from a scandal at Subway locations in other states.

True, thanks to previous legislation I supported, Planned Parenthood receives no government funds for performing abortions. True, too, that the money we recently redirected away from Planned Parenthood to other women’s health providers was earmarked for non-abortion services. However, consistent with our opposition to abortion, the legislature has chosen not to extend public money to entities engaged in its promotion, because every dime of such money frees up Planned Parenthood to spend its private funds performing abortions.

Where Whalen really misleads is in her denigration of the over 280 other Ohio women’s health providers that are now eligible to receive the money formerly granted to Planned Parenthood. There are only 28 Planned Parenthood outlets in Ohio – mostly in urban areas. The newly favored non-Planned Parenthood outlets are distributed throughout the entire state, and 39 of them are right here in Hamilton County, compared to only one Planned Parenthood site. None of these are in jails. These 39 include agencies with an outstanding health care record such as Delores Lindsay’s Health Care Connection in Lincoln Heights, which I have steadfastly supported.

Whalen’s wailing needs to be put in perspective. Our state vote to defund Planned Parenthood affects $1.3 million. Planned Parenthood receives over $500 million from the federal government, and its national budget is well over $1 billion. It is not going out of business by reason of our vote.

Neither will there be the scantest impact on women’s health services. Ohio spends nearly $50 billion per budget cycle in state and federal funds to provide Medicaid services to poor Ohioans, at least half of whom are women. I doubt Whalen looked up from her Hillary Clinton playbook long enough to recognize these facts.

I will not apologize to anyone for defending life and defunding, to the extent possible, organizations involved in infanticide.