Friday, July 06, 2007

Blunt Signs More Restrictions on Abortion Providers

From A.P. & KY3 News:

Missouri abortion providers will face new regulations for their clinics and new restrictions on teaching sex education classes.

Gov. Matt Blunt is signing legislation placing more abortion clinics under government oversight by classifying them as ambulatory surgical centers. Planned Parenthood claims the law could force it to spend more than $1 million to remodel some of its buildings. The bill also bars people affiliated with abortion providers from teaching or supplying materials for sex education courses. The legislation allows schools to offer abstinence-only programs. It also puts into law an existing grant program for pregnancy centers that encourage women to give birth instead to have abortions.

“The Missouri Alternatives to Abortion Services Program is an important program to the women we serve at LifeChoices. Many of the women we see feel overwhelming pressure to choose abortion due to circumstances, individuals, or difficulties in their lives. This bill will empower women to make an informed decision based on information instead of fear,” said Rita Lawson, client services director at LifeChoices, at a event in Joplin this morning.

Kellie Rohrbaugh of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Missouri said the bill "expressly prohibits family planning services. “If the Governor were serious about prevention of unintended pregnancy, he would ensure that women have access to birth control, which is the best ‘alternative’ to abortion," said Rohrbaugh.

“Governor Blunt is using the health care of women as a political tool—he has taken away the option for women to visit our health center for life-saving screenings,” said Rohrbaugh.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

abstinence-only sex education has failed nationwide... it's pure propaganda intended to bolster a non-objective viewpoint, and it's the students who suffer... shame on Blunt for a bad decision...

20over30 said...

Why do you so loosely label Planned Parenthood as an "abortion clinic." That's like saying every Blockbuster is a porn store -- sure there might be a few x-rated movies in the back for those feeling inclined, but majority of the movies are family oriented, comedy's, and romance.

Planned Parenthood does more than abortions (I don't think the office in Springfield even performs abortions) Planned Parenthood does gynecology exams, teaches sexual responsibility, the use of contraceptives, STD testing, and prepares women and couples for family planning.

Why is Planned Parenthood forbidden from teaching or supplying sex education material? The youth should have access to all the resources they can get! Why is Governor Blunt prohibiting valuable information and resources from reaching our youth?

This radical-right philosophy for the youth of "don't ask don't tell about sex ed" is not healthy and will bring about MORE unwanted pregnancies from uninformed women in the long run.

Lawson states, "This bill will empower women to make an informed decision based on information instead of fear." WRONG!!! The ones withholding important information from our youth is the anti-choice crowd.

I have nothing wrong with teaching abstinence only programs, but if that's all we give our youth... we're sending them straight to the x-rated movie section.