Cleveland Democratic State Sen. Nina Turner says the loss of money for Planned Parenthood is an attack on women.

“We are not children. Women do not need a permission slip from government to decide what is in the best interest of their bodies.”

Ohio State University student Laura Smales says she needs Planned Parenthood’s services, which go way beyond abortion.

“I go to Planned Parenthood for my annual exams. It’s really my only health care provider that I see throughout the year, especially being a student away from home,” she says. “I don’t have a family care doctor.

And Democratic State Rep. Nickie Antonio of Lakewood says her 26-year old-daughter, who lacks health care coverage, relies on Planned Parenthood’s services for preventative health care, while state Rep. Kathleen Clyde of Kent remembers using Planned Parenthood when she was in college.
"And it wasn’t so long ago that I don’t remember how important it was to me.” 

Lots of company, lots of critics 
Planned Parenthood estimates one-in-five American women use the group’s services sometime in their lifetimes. That’s why Sen. Turner says it’s important fight Republicans in the Ohio House and Senate to keep funding for the health screenings and preventative care the organization provides. 

“They’ve got this illusion about abortion that is the rhetoric of the ridiculous,” she maintains. “The truth of the matter is Planned Parenthood is necessary for poor, rural and urban women in the state of Ohio. But I guess the Republican party is saying, ‘The Hell with poor, black, Latino and white women in this state because they don’t matter.’  Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

Abortion opponents says others provide more comprehensive services
But Mike Gonadakis with Ohio Right to Life says the truth is Planned Parenthood does not serve most of Ohio’s poor women.

“We have over 290 facilities in the state of Ohio, approximately 160 community health centers and approximately 130 local departments of health,” he argues. “And that’s where these funds should be going...They should not be going to the nation’s largest abortion provider."

Gonadakis says comprehensive care centers provide many services, including pre-natal care and mammograms, that Planned Parenthood doesn’t provide. 

“So I’m not sure what they are providing other than abortions and sexual health types of services such as condoms and the pills.”

Gonadakis denies the move to strip funding from Planned Parenthood is politically motivated.

“We try to leave the politics out of it. Our goal is to help women who find themselves with unintended pregnancies, help disadvantaged and poor women.  The tired talking-points of the abortion industry are solely focused on keeping the money they receive on an annual basis.

“Up to $363 million a year go to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. State by state, they are turning off that spigot.”

Ohio isn't the first
Several other states have passed similar legislation to keep Planned Parenthood from getting tax dollars. But there are questions about the legality of doing that. 

A lawsuit has been filed against the state of Indiana over its law taking away money from Planned Parenthood. For its part, the organization’s spokesman says no taxpayer money goed to fund abortions. And the group says 97 percent of its services have nothing to do with abortion.”