Wisconsin governor defunds Planned Parenthood, approves $8 million in cuts

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed two bills defunding abortion giant Planned Parenthood into law Thursday morning, making the Badger State the ninth in the union to take action to eliminate the group’s taxpayer funding.

Walker approved AB 310, a measure that will shift taxpayer funding away from abortion facilities to comprehensive health centers, eliminating $3.5 million in public funding to Planned Parenthood. The pro-life governor also signed SB 238, which only permits the abortion industry to bill Medicaid for acquisition costs and dispensing fees, cutting $4.5 million from Planned Parenthood.

The Republican governor signed the measures at Life’s Connection, a pro-life pregnancy resource center in Waukesha.

“We want to make sure as taxpayers, whether it’s state funds or federal funds that come through the state of Wisconsin, that they’re used in the way that’s responsible and reasonable,” Walker stated before approving the bills.

SB 328 was approved by the state Senate in January on a party line vote, and passed the state Assembly last week. AB 310  was approved by the Assembly last year and the Senate in January.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Casey Mattox praised the passage of the two measures.

“Planned Parenthood shouldn’t be profiting off of women and taxpayers. Yet, this scandal-plagued organization has accepted more than $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies over the past decade while reporting more than $765 million in ‘excess revenues.'”

There are seven health care clinics for every Planned Parenthood facility in the state of Wisconsin, ADF reports.

Wisconsin Right to Life Executive Director Heather Weininger also applauded the defunding bills.

“By the admission of Planned Parenthood’s President and CEO Teresa Huyck in her deposition for Planned Parenthood v. Van Hollen, in 2012 alone Planned Parenthood performed about 4,000 abortions, approximately 60 percent of all Wisconsin abortions in that year,”