COLUMBUS – Planned Parenthood says it is targeting Gov. John Kasich in online ads as the Republican presidential contender is expected to sign a bill aimed at diverting taxpayer money away from the organization.
The ads also come as Kasich finished second in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday behind Donald Trump.
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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio says its five-figure ad buy will appear on Facebook and online news sites across Ohio. The 30-second video asks why Kasich would want to support the measure.
The House on Wednesday voted 59-32 to give final approval to a bill that will cut off Planned Parenthood from more than $1.3 million in state funding. This is on top of the loss of federal family planning money that Kasich signed in 2013.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
The bill targets funds Planned Parenthood receives through Ohio’s health department. The roughly $1.3 million supports initiatives for HIV testing, breast and cervical cancer screenings and other programs.
The bill would restrict such funds from going to entities that perform or promote abortions.
Nationally, Kasich is viewed as more moderate than most of, if not all of, his fellow GOP presidential contenders. Asked if signing this bill will help with Kasich’s conservative credentials, Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, said, “He has a long track record of being pro-life.”
Funding cut from Planned Parenthood will be redirected to other health clinics in Ohio to combat infant mortality. The Ohio Association of Community Health Centers will receive an additional $250,000 to promote safe sleep practices for new moms and babies, birth spacing, and smoking Supporters say that will help provide broader health care coverage across the state, but opponents say many of those clinics do not have the services or capacity to do what Planned Parenthood does.
The bill also requires Medicaid to change eligibility regulations at local health departments and WIC clinics to allow pregnant women earlier access to prenatal care.