We recently sent out an action alert which asked supporters to tell Del. Dave Albo (R-42) how disappointed they were that he voted to defund Planned Parenthood in Virginia. Many of our supporters did so and Del. Albo responded to several supporters with an outright lie about his voting record.
We want to make sure that you have the full and accurate story, because it is important that our supporters are confident that our information is backed up with facts.
Read the entire e-mail correspondence between one of our supporters and Delegate Albo:
From XXXX:
Delegate Dave Albo
General Assembly Building, Room 529
PO Box 406
Richmond, VA 23218-0406
Dear Delegate Albo,
I am writing to let you know how disappointed I am that you voted to defund Planned Parenthood in Virginia.
The majority of Planned Parenthood’s services are focused on prevention: the prevention of unintended pregnancy, disease transmission, and cancer. Often, the provision of these critical services enable people who would otherwise have no access to quality health care to visit with a provider.
In an economic climate where the health care system is insufficient, I am shocked you would vote to defund a health provider where many Virginia women receive prevention services.
This is the e-mail Delegate Albo sent back:
Dear XXXX,
It’s great hearing from you and I appreciate you taking time out to voice your disappointment. However, I did not vote for defunding Planned Parenthood. In the House Budget, I voted for a budget amendment against appropriating any funds for abortion services, except as otherwise required by federal statute. The amendment states:
4-5.04#1 “j. MEDICAL SERVICES: No expenditures from general, special or other nongeneral fund sources may be made out of any appropriation by the General Assembly for providing abortion services, except as otherwise required by federal statute. However, nothing herein shall prevent a physician from providing medical assistance to preserve the life of a pregnant woman provided that every possible measure shall be taken to preserve the life of the unborn child of the pregnant woman.”
This amendment still provided funding for Planned Parenthood for its great efforts to provide preventative services including the prevention of unintended pregnancies, disease transmission, ect.
The final budget passed on Saturday and included money for Planned Parenthood which is to be used for prevention services. I voted for the final budget.
Thanks for writing so I could clear up the misunderstanding.
Regards,
Dave Albo
So let’s point out all of the inaccurate information in Delegate Albo’s e-mail:
The e-mail began, “It’s great hearing from you and I appreciate you taking time out to voice your disappointment. However, I did not vote for defunding Planned Parenthood.”
The truth is Del. Albo did vote to completely defund Planned Parenthood in Virginia. He voted in favor of Budget Item 4-5.04#2h, which said “j. Medical Services: No expenditures from general, special, or other nongeneral fund sources may be made out of any appropriation by the General Assembly to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof. Explanation: (This amendment is self-explanatory).”
Del. Albo’s misleading defense cited his vote for a completely different budget amendment, one that would have restricted Medicaid funding for medically-necessary abortion services.
The simple truth is that Del. Albo voted both to defund Planned Parenthood and to restrict Medicaid funding.
As someone who has experience with the budget process, Del. Albo should have a clear understanding of the budget amendments he’s voting on before casting a vote. It is highly unlikely Del. Albo did not understand that the budget amendment he voted for was attempting to defund Planned Parenthood or what the ramifications of such a budget amendment would have on Planned Parenthood’s ability to provide prevention services in Virginia. Just as the budget amendment is self-explanatory, so are Del. Albo’s actions.
Finally, Del. Albo claims to agree with and appreciate our work towards prevention. He writes “This amendment still provided funding for Planned Parenthood for its great efforts to provide preventative services including the prevention of unintended pregnancies, disease transmission, etc.”
While we certainly appreciate Del. Albo’s acknowledgement of our efforts to promote and expand access to reproductive health care services, we wish his votes would reflect that. Women who need, and benefit from, the services we provide would assuredly find Del. Albo’s good wishes insignificant to overcoming the potential damage done by the very funding elimination he voted for.
Del. Albo has the right to defend or explain his votes, but we will not stand by while he misleads his constituents and the general public.
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