The Virginia Senate on Monday voted to pull state funding from local Planned Parenthood clinics, a measure that had already passed in the House of Delegates last month in a 64 to 35 vote.
According to NBC29, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has already pledged to veto the bill, which passed the Senate 21 to 19.
While the bill is unlikely to become law in the state due to the governor's veto power, the vote was largely symbolic for pro-lifers, who argue that women would be better served if the state funds typically granted to Planned Parenthood were given to other health clinics who haven’t been accused of illegally selling body parts taken form aborted children.
According to Victoria Cobb, president of the pro-life Family Foundation of Virginia, there are more than 140 other clinics that could use the state funding. Via a press release from the Family Foundation:
“It is insulting that Planned Parenthood nationally receives nearly half its $1 billion budget from taxpayers,” said Victoria Cobb, President of The Family Foundation of Virginia. “This legislation partially insulates Virginia taxpayers from that misuse of funds, a necessary action after a year in which Planned Parenthood was embroiled in a controversial scandal that exposed the organization’s selling of unborn baby body parts for profit and its callous, dispassionate attitude toward the unborn and women.
There are well over 140 federally qualified and rural clinics in Virginia that offer real, comprehensive health services women need, beyond the limited services offered at Virginia’s abortion centers. The argument that women will not have access to needed care as a result of this legislation is patently false.
Virginia’s taxpayers are better served when their money is given to truly compassionate, comprehensive health centers as this legislation requires.”
According to Planned Parenthood’s most recent annual report, more than half of the nearly $1.2 billion in its annual national budget is derived from federal, state and local tax dollars.
However, Planned Parenthood of Virginia’s annual report does not explain how much of their more than $3.3 million in annual funding comes from government sources. The report also excludes the number of abortions performed annually in Planned Parenthood clinics across the state.