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By Tim Craig The Washington Post Thursday, February 28, 2008
RICHMOND, Feb. 27 -- The Virginia Senate voted Wednesday to cut off state funding to Planned Parenthood of Virginia
because it offers abortions, an action that could endanger hundreds of
thousands of dollars in state aid for women's health-care programs.
The
decision, a major setback for the Senate's new Democratic majority,
marks the first time in more than a decade that the Senate has decided
against giving state aid to the organization because of its
abortion-related activities.
The GOP-controlled House has long
pushed to cut off state aid for Planned Parenthood, but the moderate
Republicans who controlled the Senate until this year fought off the
effort.
On Thursday, however, all 19 Senate Republicans decided they would vote for the amendment sponsored by Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II (R-Fairfax), who is considering running for attorney general next year.
Senate Democratic leaders struggled for hours to defeat the amendment, but they were unable to stop Sen. Charles J. Colgan (D-Prince William) from voting for it. Colgan's decision resulted in 20 to 20 tie, which was broken by Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), who voted for the restrictions.
"It's
because of my conscience, and I don't waver from that, as my colleagues
found out today," said Colgan, whose district includes western Prince WIlliam County. "I ran on a pro-life platform, and most of my constituents are pro-life."
House
Republicans have already deleted funding for Planned Parenthood in
their version of the budget. With the Senate's vote, it could be up to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) to decide whether he wants to try to remove the amendment after the final budget lands on his desk next month.
After the vote, Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw
(D-Fairfax) warned that the Senate was setting a bad precedent of
singling out organizations because of ideological differences.
"Once we start down this road, there will be no stopping," Saslaw said.
Cuccinelli
said there has traditionally been $250,000 to $500,000 in the budget
for programs operated by Planned Parenthood that are not related to
abortion services. Cuccinelli said, however, that Planned Parenthood
was not restricted in how it spends some of the money it receives,
which he said could result in funds being used to subsidize abortions.
"What we are doing is financing an abortion-mill operator," Cuccinelli said. "This will deny them that money."
Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) said that Planned Parenthood provides "contraceptive planning which prevents abortions."
"The irony is, Planned Parenthood probably prevents more abortions than any other organization in the country," Howell said.
Planned Parenthood officials could not be immediately reached for comment. Delacey Skinner,
Kaine's communications director, said some of the state aid for Planned
Parenthood goes for programs that it operates at juvenile correction
facilities to teach pregnancy prevention.
Planned Parenthood also
gets state aid to run programs to prevent HIV, she said. The
organization also gets some funds for providing health care to
low-income women.
"The funding that goes to Planned Parenthood is
going to fund teen pregnancy programs as well as pass-through for a
variety of health-care procedures for low-income women," she said.
Nevertheless, the GOP
effort to push the amendment through the Senate represents a major
defeat for the Senate Democratic majority as it prepares to battle with
the House over the budget in the remaining days before lawmakers
adjourn March 8.
Earlier Wednesday, Senate Democrats vowed to
stay in session past March 8 unless the House abandons plans to
recalculate how public schools are funded.
In developing their
proposal to meet the state's Standards of Quality, House Republicans
are rewriting some funding formulas to try to save the money, Virginia
Education Association officials said.
In its version of the
2008-2010 budget, House Republicans are proposing changes to the
formula for the Standards of Quality, a constitutional requirement that
requires schools' funding be readjusted every two years.
Teachers
unions and local governments oppose the change, saying it will set back
a decades-long efforts to better align teachers' salaries statewide
with the national average.
If the House plan is approved, there
would be $227 million less in state aid for teachers' salaries by the
2010-2012 budget, said Robert B. Rotz, division chief for the Joint
Legislative Audit Review Committee.
Legislative auditors also raised questions about whether the proposed change violates the state constitution.
"I
am geared and ready for battle," Howell said after Rotz's presentation.
"I am ready to fight. If this were to pass, this would be the single
greatest blow to public education in my 16 years down here."
Del. Phillip A. Hamilton (R-Newport News)
countered that House Republicans are trying to save taxpayers money by
making local governments pick up more of the share when they decided to
give teacher pay raises greater than those approved by the General
Assembly.
"Why should the state be reimbursing for what is basically an unfunded obligation from the localities?" Hamilton said.
Hamilton
said the proposed 2008-2010 House budget includes an additional $1.1
billion for public education, including a proposed 2 percent increase
in teachers' salaries later this year.
"The bottom line is this budget increases funding for education," Hamilton said.
The Daily Progress Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Feb.
13 was Crossover Day, the final deadline for working on bills before
the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates exchange legislation.
Two committee
chairs in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates, Del. David Albo
and Del. Robert Tata, have refused to allow either voting or discussion
on several measures that would help thousands of men, women, families
and teens have access to family planning services and comprehensive
family life education
HB 1071, the
Birth Control Protection Act, was a simple bill that would define birth
control in the Code of Virginia as contraceptive methods that are
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
HB 283 and HB
1403 were straightforward bills that would have ensured communication
with parents about what is being taught in Family Life Education
programs and added contraception to the code section on Family Life
Education.
Denying these bills a proper hearing is unconscionable and an obstruction of the democratic process.
While Planned
Parenthoods prevention initiatives aimed at reducing unintended
pregnancies and improving the quality of family life education were
silenced, this same group of legislators had no trouble giving
extensive time and debate to anti-choice bills aimed at restricting
access to abortion and other health-care services.
Sadly, pro-life legislators are, too often, also anti-contraception.
Legislators who truly want to reduce the need for abortion should put prevention first.
Jane Williamson Albemarle County
By Alicia Petska The News and Advance Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Twice
this month Lynchburg police have received complaints about pro-life
demonstrators videotaping women entering the Planned Parenthood clinic
on Langhorne Road.
Planned
Parenthood, which has centers in Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Roanoke
and Blacksburg, called the behavior "intimidating and harassing."
The
coordinator of the demonstration - a local outcropping of a national
prayer-focused campaign named "40 Days for Life" - said they were
operating within the law.
"Our
signs have a clear message that we're not using violent means (to
express our opinions). We're opposed to violence," organizer Kevin
Giedd said, referencing the small placards held by participants that
read "Pray to End Abortion."
40
Days for Life, as its name suggests, consists of 40 days spent keeping
quiet vigil outside a pro-choice organization and praying for an end to
legalized abortion. The campaign started Feb. 6 and will end March 16.
This is the first year Lynchburg has participated, Giedd said.
"I'm
happy to have the police come out here," he said. "Because I think once
they see there's not much going on, they'll understand. ... I want them
to know I'm with them on this."
At
the start of the 40 days, Giedd notified both Planned Parenthood and
the Lynchburg Police Department of his plans. He in turn received from
the police a copy of the city's demonstration laws. None of those rules
specifically prohibit the videotaping of people, he noted.
Giedd,
the most frequent face at the vigil post near the corner of Langhorne
and Tate Springs roads, acknowledged he had been videotaping people
visiting the center. He had specifically focused on those driving cars
with Liberty University stickers, he said, with the intention of
turning the tapes over to the school for further investigation.
LU administrators said they were unaware of Giedd's actions and would not look into any tapes that were submitted.
"We
have no interest in pursuing some tape dropped into our mail or plopped
in our laps of a LU car at Planned Parenthood," said Barry N. Moore,
the vice president of university relations. "We don't have any interest
in tracking down license plates or anything else from things like this."
LU,
which Giedd is a graduate of, does have a code of conduct that calls on
its 10,000 or so students to be "responsible members of the Christian
community."
Having
an abortion is considered one of the more serious transgressions and
can earn a student 30 "reprimands," which is punishable by community
service, a fine and possible expulsion, although LU officials couldn't
recall the latter penalty being exercised in recent history.
Students are given a grace period in which they can report themselves in order to begin the "healing process," Moore said.
"These
sorts of things are not nonchalant situations to us. They're very
serious to us," he said. "But, we love our students and we want to help
our students. ? We have compassionate rules."
The
Planned Parenthood in Lynchburg does not perform abortions. Its
services instead focus on efforts such as prescribing birth control and
treating sexually transmitted diseases. Abortions can be obtained at
Planned Parenthood health centers in Charlottesville and Roanoke.
Becky
Reid, a grassroots organizer for Planned Parenthood Health Systems
operating out of Charlottesville, called Giedd's actions "extremely
reprehensible."
"I
think most people recognize this is a very extreme and inappropriate
way of expressing your views," she said, "Everyone has a right to
different views and to express them, but people also have a right to
access safe, legal preventative health care."
Police spoke to demonstrators as recently as Monday afternoon and told them to stop the videotaping.
Lynchburg
has no specific law against videotaping people in public, said City
Attorney Walter Erwin, as long as it is not done in a harassing or
threatening manner, and does not impede a person's access to a public
area. Someone who feels aggrieved by being taped could also possibly
file a civil suit claiming "infliction of emotional distress," he noted.
"It's
our officers' job to prevent people from intimidating or frightening
other people from exercising their rights," Erwin said. "At the same
time, just because you don't like it (being taped) doesn't mean it
can't be done."
Ultimate
determination of what is or is not legal behavior is something "the
courts have to sort out," he added. Erwin did not specifically address
the Planned Parenthood situation, as he was unaware of the
circumstances there.
Giedd,
who stressed the message of the 40 Days campaign was non-threatening,
said he was undecided about what action to take following the police
officers' order. Another officer who responded to an earlier complaint
about the videotaping told them they were not breaking the law, he said.
"The
Lynchburg police have generally been very good," he said. "Usually,
every time a police or sheriff's car drives by, I wave at them and they
wave and smile back at me."
The Roanoke Times Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The Senate narrowly defeated SB 155 (17-22), a simple bill that
would have amended the code of Virginia to include "the use of
FDA-approved methods of contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy,
along with abstinence and disease prevention" in family life education
programs. The guidelines in this bill were developed with input from
public school staff, state agencies, parent groups and not-for-profit
organizations that provide family life services.
No Republican senators supported this simple, common-sense measure.
The chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee voted against
the bill. What does that mean for the future of reproductive health in
Virginia?
Research shows that teens who receive comprehensive sexuality
education that includes discussion of abstinence and contraception are
more likely than those who receive abstinence-only messages to delay
sexual activity and to use contraceptives when they do become sexually
active.
I am disheartened by the defeat of such a common-sense prevention
measure. In light of the growing body of research showing the failures
of abstinence-only programs, it seems all legislators should be able to
agree on the importance of providing medically accurate information
about pregnancy and disease prevention.
Rebecca Murray Willis
By Tim Craig The Washington Post Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has cut off state funding for abstinence-only sex education programs, citing recent studies finding that teenagers should also be taught about birth control and condoms to protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
By Bryan McKenzie The Daily Progress Saturday, November 3, 2007
God, they say, works in mysterious ways: Inside and outside of Charlottesvilles Planned Parenthood, Hes sent forth his minions into the abortion debate.
By Rachel Thielmann The Daily Progress Friday, November 9, 2007
By Cheryl Borgman The Hook Thursday, May 31, 2007
By Virginia Glenn The Hook Thursday, May 31, 2007
By Mira Signer, Director of Public Affairs at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia The Daily Press Friday, May 25, 2007
By John Dumm The Daily Progress Tuesday, May 16, 2007By Rebecca Schmidt, Educator and Becky Reid, Grassroots Organizer at Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge The Daily Progress Sunday, May 5, 2007
By Lucie Stone The Hook Thursday, May 3, 2007
In the cut-throat world of nonprofit fundraising, where money means survival, the pro-life Pregnancy Centers of Central Virginia won the jackpot in 2006: the federal government coughed up more than $645,000 to help them teach abstinence-only sex ed to central Virginia youth.
By Devan Barber Richmond Times-Dispatch Tuesday, May 1, 2007
April 18 was a dark day for women's health and safety. The United States Supreme Court upheld a federal abortion ban passed by Congress in 2003. While this ban claims to prohibit only certain methods of abortion performed late in pregnancy, in reality its wording calls into question many methods used in the early second trimester that are deemed safe and effective by doctors across America.
By Brian McNeill The Daily Progress Friday, April 27, 2007
A small group of parents and students from the Charlottesville area rallied alongside U.S. 29 on Thursday to denounce abstinence-only sex-ed lessons in Central Virginia school systems.
By Tammie Smith Richmond Times-Dispatch Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Planned Parenthood is giving away free packs of emergency contraception pills today as part of a national effort called "Back Up Your Birth Control Day."
By Courtney Stuart The Hook Thursday, March 1, 2007
By Joe Rogalsky DC Examiner Friday, January 19, 2007
Legislation announced Thursday in Richmond would prevent birth-control options from being regulated by Virginia's abortion laws.
By Tammie Smith Richmond Times-Dispatch Friday, January 19, 2007
Medical students Jennifer L. Buckley and Uppinder Mattu think women should be able to make their own choices about preventing pregnancy.
By Courtney Hall C-ville Weekly Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Some State lawmakers are dead set on restricting womens access to contraceptions and abortions, introducing legislation year after year to do just that.
By Jatrice Martel Gaiter, President / CEO, Planned Parenthood Metropolitan Washington The Washington Post Saturday, January 13, 2007
As an African American woman, the daughter of a cervical cancer survivor and president of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, I strongly disagree with columnist Courtland Milloy's uninformed and misguided assertions about a mandatory HPV vaccine program in the District [Metro, Jan. 10].
By LILLIAN KAFKA Potomac News Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, introduced a bill Monday that would ban abortions in Virginia if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its 1973 decision legalizing the procedure.