INDIANAPOLIS | Republican Gov. Mike Pence is hoping the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate will approve legislation, possibly as soon as Monday, halting all federal funds paid to Planned Parenthood.
"I've long believed that the largest abortion provider in America should not also be the largest recipient of federal funding under Title X, and I support efforts in Congress to continue that effort," Pence said.
However, the defunding proposal Pence endorsed goes much further than simply denying Planned Parenthood access to Title X grants for family planning and contraception programs.
The legislation, co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., bars Medicaid patients from obtaining any health services, such as disease testing or cancer screening, at all Planned Parenthood facilities, even those that don't offer abortion services.
Federal and state laws already prohibit use of government funds for abortion.
Coats said the measure is needed following the recent release of Internet videos that he claims showcase "Planned Parenthood's role in harvesting organs of aborted babies."
"We need to let Planned Parenthood know that the American people do not support these inhumane practices," Coats said. "I urge all senators to support this bill and affirm that life is a sacred and precious gift that must be protected."
Planned Parenthood officials insist the secretly recorded videos, released by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress, are heavily edited to mislead viewers about tissue donation programs available at some clinics that enable women to donate their aborted fetuses for medical research.
The three Hoosier Planned Parenthood facilities that offer abortion services, including its Merrillville location, do not participate in the tissue donation program, said Betty Cockrum, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.
That fact was confirmed this week by the Indiana State Department of Health following a Pence-ordered investigation into whether Planned Parenthood complies with state law on the proper disposal of fetal remains.
After inspecting the Planned Parenthood clinics in Merrillville, Indianapolis and Bloomington, the health department determined Pence's complaint was unsubstantiated and promptly closed its investigation.
The governor on Friday defended his decision to order one.
"Look, I think regardless of where you stand on the issue of abortion, given the appalling remarks that were made by a senior medical official of Planned Parenthood of America, I thought it was important for us to be able to reassure Hoosiers that the practices that are alleged in those videos are not taking place in the state of Indiana," Pence said.
Cockrum said she thinks the time and money wasted on the unneeded investigations could have been put to better use.
"Perhaps now Indiana's executive leadership will focus on measures such as teen pregnancy prevention and reducing the cycle of poverty to truly advance the dream of thriving Hoosier families," Cockrum said.
A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., refused to say how he will vote on the Senate's Planned Parenthood defunding proposal.
Indiana anti-abortion groups blasted e-mail messages to their backers Friday asking them to contact Donnelly and urge that he support defunding, as Donnelly once did as a member of the U.S. House.
"Senator Donnelly is reviewing the legislation and appreciates hearing from Hoosiers on both sides of the issue," said Elizabeth Shappell, Donnelly's communications director.
Both of Illinois' senators — Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Dick Durbin — have said they will vote against the measure, which is unlikely to garner the 60 votes required to end Senate debate and win a final decision on whether to advance it to the Republican-controlled House.
In any case, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday that Democratic President Barack Obama will veto the legislation if it makes it to his desk.