Arizona state employees will no longer be able to make payroll deduction donations to Planned Parenthood, a panel of gubernatorial appointees has decided.
“The fact is, is this is a state-run campaign,” Daniel Scarpinato, press aide to pro-life Governor Doug Ducey, said. “And we have to be responsible and thoughtful about which organizations are included on that list. Organizations that are political and have been largely controversial are ones that we need to be looking at with a raised eyebrow.”
Planned Parenthood Arizona spokeswoman Jodi Liggett blasted the move as “clearly political,” claiming the abortion giant’s ongoing fetal organ harvesting scandal was a “manufactured controversy” and noting that “in any event, as the governor’s office well knows, we don’t do tissue donation at all in Arizona.”
Critics further noted that the pro-life and religious liberty law firm Alliance Defending Freedom remains on the state’s approved list. Scarpinato dismissed allegations of hypocrisy as “silly,” noting that Planned Parenthood is “constantly in the news for controversial and political activity.”
While ADF’s activities are considered controversial by those who disagree with their positions, they are not facing allegations of having broken any laws.
