Amy Huffman-Branham jeers the GOP on Planned Parenthood vote.

Kudos to this powerful statement of principle by the News and Tribune's Amy Huffman-Branham. She can rest assured that Ron "Tell me how to vote, St. Daniels" Grooms stopped reading after the word "Senate", and of course we all understand that depriving women of health services has everything to do with the Republican Party's ideological leanings toward theocratic fascism and nothing whatever to do with any real concern for the health of women.

JEERS

... to the Indiana Senate, which voted Monday to prohibit state contracts or grants with Planned Parenthood or other organizations that provide abortions.

It is disappointing that state legislators would make a decision that effectively takes away women’s access to health services — which extend far beyond providing abortions.

At a time when millions of Americans live without health insurance, it’s hard to understand how legislators think this is a justifiable move. Thousands of low-income women rely on Planned Parenthood and similar organizations for birth control, pelvic and breast exams and other health services.

The passage of the bill Monday comes on the heels of the passage of legislation last week that adds other restrictions to the state’s abortion laws, giving Indiana some of the tightest restrictions in the nation.

If the concern among legislators is to reduce the number of abortions, it hardly makes sense to pass a law that will make it harder for Hoosier women to get birth control. And it is appalling that lawmakers continue to encourage and support legislation that sacrifices women’s health and restricts their right to make decisions for themselves.

— Amy Huffman-Branham, assistant editor