Virgina Cuts Funds for Planned Parenthood

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, particularly on what should be a national holiday, but there is some grim news out my home state, Virginia, which can't be ignored. As the Washington Post notes, the Virginia State Senate voted this week to:

...cut off state funding to Planned Parenthood of Virginia because it offers abortions, an action that could endanger hundreds of thousands of dollars in state aid for women's health-care programs.

This loss is partially due to the betrayal of one man, Sen. Charles J. Colgan, a Democrat from Prince William County whose vote for the measure "... resulted in 20 to 20 tie, which was broken by Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), who voted for the restrictions." If you live in Colgan's district, feel free to give him a ring and let him know that his decision to cut state funding of Planned Parenthood hurts women, youths, and low-income couples since the state funds were being used to "...provide low- cost gynecological care, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and birth control to women, families and teens in Virginia" and "...for programs that [Planned Parenthood] operates at juvenile correction facilities to teach pregnancy prevention." Good job, Senator - way to stand-up for family values.

Perhaps Planned Parenthood states it best in an email sent to members today, "Sometimes legislators can lose sight of how their political maneuvering impacts people's lives." There is some hope for Virginians, though, since Gov. Tim Kaine (D) might still "...try to remove the amendment after the final budget lands on his desk next month." Best of luck, Gov., we're rooting for you!