May 9, 2012
Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law a measure preventing Planned Parenthood from accessing taxpayer money for non-abortion services in Arizona, CBN News reports. Already in Arizona, public money can't be used for abortions except to save the life of the mother, but pro-life legislators and supporters of the new law say it is needed to make sure no taxpayer money indirectly supports abortion services. Planned Parenthood Arizona says the funding ban will "interrupt its preventative health care and family planning services," and the organization is considering a legal challenge. The law is just one of several pro-life bills Brewer has recently signed, including a measure decreeing that abortion providers cannot qualify for a tax credit given to the working poor, a bill banning "wrongful cause of life" lawsuits against doctors who fail to diagnose birth defects in unborn children, and a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
