A Statement from Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod

It takes very little to set off hysteria anymore. The Arizona legislature passed a bill early this morning requiring the state to apply to be a distributor of Title X federal family planning money. Immediately, pro-abortion activists screamed the tired and unsubstantiated cry that women will be left in the streets without health care.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Title X funding is required to go toward family planning services and will continue to do so. If the federal government awards the state the grant, DHS could choose from 183 health care clinics throughout the state to help fund such health services for low-income Arizonans.

Planned Parenthood would be eligible if it ceased performing abortions. But Planned Parenthood is not the only game in town, and taxpayers should not be forced to pay for abortions – even indirectly through paying other expenses at abortion clinics.

Planned Parenthood of Arizona currently receives a fraction of Title X funding – losing it would hardly be crippling.

Arizona lawmakers did the right thing by paving the way for the state to be a distributor of Title X money, putting Arizona in line with nearly half of the states in the union.

DHS knows the health needs throughout the state and can distribute the funds in a way that best meets the needs of the diverse communities in Arizona.

Center for Arizona Policy promotes and defends the foundational values of life, marriage and family, and religious freedom. For more information, visit azpolicy.org.

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