Indiana, again.

Back in March, I wrote about an Indiana bill that was a whole lot of fuckery with a great big lie ensconced into it. That bill has not yet passed but a Senate version passed last week:
The Senate voted 35-13 to approve the bill, which also shortens the window in which women can have abortions and mandates doctors make certain statements to patients seeking the procedure.

"It does, in my opinion, help women," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Pat Miller, R-Indianapolis. "It helps them with objective scientific information."
Sorry, I don't think you actually know what "objective scientific information" means since the bit about abortions causing infertility? A LIE.

Anyway, the Senate bill had something new in it: ending Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood (sound familiar?). The House bill now has that added to it. Small (where "small" is really "ENORMOUS") problem with that being (emphasis mine):
[F]ederal law blocks states from choosing which organizations can provide family planning services to Medicaid patients, the measure could cost the state all federal funding for family planning.
And:
Planned Parenthood of Indiana says cutting off its $3 million in government funding would put at risk the services -- including birth control pills, cancer screenings and sexually transmitted disease tests -- that it provides to 22,000 low-income Hoosiers. The group predicted the move would cost Indiana $68 million in Medicaid expenses for unintended pregnancies.

[...]

Ending taxpayer funding would seriously jeopardize eight health centers that serve low-income Hoosiers around the state, Cockrum [Betty, president of PP of Indiana] said. It also would keep Medicaid clients from visiting any of Planned Parenthood's 28 Indiana locations.
Mitch Daniels is not commenting on whether he will sign it into law. Planned Parenthood is ready to sue the state if it does get signed. According to House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis):
...[T]here might be “some constitutional issues” about the measure to defund Planned Parenthood, but he didn’t elaborate. He said it is too early to tell whether the House will agree to the Planned Parenthood provisions, which were inserted in the Senate.

“If it does not weigh down the other provisions of House Bill 1210, I’m OK with it,” he said “If it does weigh them down, then we’ll have to take a hard look at it.”
Yes, I see you being there on record with having no problem otherwise lying to people and taking away their autonomy. Gotcha.

Don't you worry though, Hoosiers! Sue Swayze, legislative director for Indiana Right to Life doesn't see any problems with any of it since she says there are other health clinics women might be able to go to--and she has a helpful suggestion:
"You can buy some types of contraceptive devices at Walmart," she said.
Well, there you go. Walmart. Brilliant. Really.

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