Austin City Council Considers Endorsing Planned Parenthood Taxpayer Funding

This morning, the Austin City Council will meet to discuss Item 39, a radical resolution to support Planned Parenthood funding and amend the city’s state legislative agenda to support funding for “women’s healthcare,” in other words, abortion.

This anti-life proposition comes less than 2 months after the city was forced to pay $480,000 for discriminating against life-affirming resource centers and for violating their First Amendment rights to free speech. The city tried to force the centers to post false information about the free services they give to women. The proposition is also ill-timed as Planned Parenthood has been under serious investigations by the Texas Senate and 5 US Congressional Committees for illegal trafficking of baby body parts.

The council agenda states “the Texas Legislature has passed bills every session that chip away at access to reproductive services,” making it clear that this misguided effort is about the Council’s hostility towards important pro-life bills passed in the last several legislative sessions, including the Sonogram Law and the Pro-Life Omnibus Bill, HB 2.

Our friends at Texas Right to Life also importantly note:

The city council attempts to justify their unflinching support for scandal-ridden Planned Parenthood by stating that ‘Planned Parenthood is one of the nation’s leading providers of high-quality, affordable health care.’ They fail to mention that there are a staggering number of federally qualified health centers throughout Texas, far greater in number than the Planned Parenthood affiliates, and that those health centers do not commit abortions.  Additionally, for the 2015-2016 state budget Texas legislators significantly increased funding for the Women’s Health Program and Expanded Primary Health Care Program, thereby increasing funding to comprehensive health centers in Texas that do not commit abortions.

Texas Values will be attending the meeting and testifying.