Walberg Watch: Walberg Against Family Planning Services

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Walberg Against Family Planning Services

The Battle Creek Enquirer reported today on the same vote I mentioned last week:

U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, supported an amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Bill (HR 3043) that would have cut off Title X federal funding to Planned Parenthood, including its South Central Michigan chapter serving Calhoun and six other counties.
Walberg said in a weekly e-mail report that because Planned Parenthood performs abortions for its clients, he was opposed to any federal government support of such organizations.

(Emphasis added.)

Ah, "pro-life" Tim Walberg felt compelled to vote for the amendment because he doesn't want to fund abortions. Except, there's a problem. As the article continues:

Title X funding, however, supports family planning services such as contraceptives, sexually transmitted infection treatments, breast and cervical screenings, pregnancy tests and education programs, said Megan Zapinski, public affairs manager at Planned Parenthood of South Central Michigan.

“Title X does not cover any abortions,” she said. “Nothing comes from the government for that. ... This (funding) is all to prevent unintended pregnancies.”

Abortions provided by Planned Parenthood are paid for by the client, the insurance provider or through private donations, said Meg Smillie, chief operating officer at the South Central Michigan chapter.

The amendment was defeated in July. Walberg voted against the final version of the bill last week.

“The overall bill was too expensive,” said Walberg spokesman Matt Lahr.

It's not like Walberg's ideology gets in the way of the facts or anything.

Labels: 110th Congress, Abortion, Family Planning, Issues, Planned Parenthood, Tim Walberg, Walberg Voting Record

posted by Fitzy # 6:03 PM

Comments:

This amendment did not take away any funding from family planning services, but did strip funding from only Planned Parenthood. If you sgree with giving Planned Parenthood money, then you probably aren't going to support Walberg anyway. I would encourage you to do some research and learn about some of the terrible things Planned Parenthood has done over the years. Yes, it may be a "conservative" idea to be pro-life, but Planned Parenthood has made abortion an industry through which they gain financially. Recently a PP clinic was exposed for being willing to give a 15 year old girl an abortion without parental consent, even when the man who impregnated her was 21. I think we can all agree this is terrible. All i am asking is for you to consider some of the facts before making sweeping judgments.

# posted by

Anonymous : August 23, 2007 at 7:25 PM

This amendment did not take away any funding from family planning services, but did strip funding from only Planned Parenthood.

The amendment stripped funding for Planned Parenthood's family planning services. The organization does not receive taxpayer dollars through Title X for its abortion services.

Walberg's vote would have limited access to family planning services and would have resulted in more unwanted pregnancies, meaning (potentially) more abortions. For someone that claims to be "pro-life," that doesn't seem like a good vote to take.

# posted by

Fitzy : August 23, 2007 at 9:50 PM

Yo Fitzy,

This is like watching you talk to a wall. You are never going to convince that first poster that Planned Parenthood does anything good. They have been brainwashed, probably by Right to Life, to beleive Planned Parenthood is one of the devil's tools and that they profit on death.

You are 100% correct and you use facts, hard actual facts to back up your claims. The other side uses emotional pleas and nodescript narratives to explain their position because they never will give up any ground.

Walberg's vote against Planned Parenthood had nothing to do with an actual abortion and was a politically calculated play on anti-abortion heart-strings. He uses anti-abortion groups to get elected, but there is nothing really to do to prevent abortions anymore, so he trumps up some lies and pounds on his cheast and beats back the imaginary enemy.

# posted by

Anonymous : August 24, 2007 at 9:56 AM

Right on. As far as I can see Planned Parenthood is the only organization doing anything to curb unwanted pregancies. Seems to me that the abortion issue would take care of itself if peopled used their heads in the first place and didn't get into trouble too begin with.

It's funny how these fundamentalists don't seem to care about the "life" that presently exists. A true Pro-Life stance would be concerned with all life not just the unborn. I just can't figure them out.

# posted by

Anonymous : August 24, 2007 at 3:35 PM

If half of the money spent by Right to Life of Michigan was actually spent on pregnency prevention or counseling, abortion rates would drop like a rock.

# posted by

Anonymous : August 25, 2007 at 1:07 AM

Walberg Against Family Planning Services

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