Kansas bishops blast governor’s decision to fund Planned Parenthood, eliminate crisis-pregnancy funding

August 11, 2009

The four bishops of Kansas have offered strong criticism of Governor Mark Parkinson’s decision to defund the Senator Stan Clark Pregnancy Maintenance Initiative, which provided support to maternity homes and other agencies that assisted women in crisis pregnancies.

“The full Kansas Senate even held a floor vote on funding for the program, which, we were pleased to see, passed without any opposition by a voice vote,” the bishops noted. They added:

We understand that you have been required to make budget cuts beyond what was approved by the Legislature, and realize that this is no easy task. However, eliminating the Senator Stan Clark Pregnancy Maintenance Initiative is clearly contrary to the will of the Legislature and will do little to balance the budget. Yet the relatively small amount of funding commanded by this program has very large consequences for women in Kansas, and its absence will send a disturbing message about our priorities as a state, especially when taken in concert with your recent veto of a budget amendment restricting public funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.

 

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Further information:

• Abortion opponents blast Kansas program cut (Wichita Eagle)
• Letter from Kansas bishops (Kansas Catholic Conference)