This is especially critical now that the Ohio House has voted to defund Planned Parenthood in a 59-32 vote. That bill now goes to Governor Kasich, and given his visibility in the presidential campaign, his decision will be much more public than his efforts to restrict abortion access in the past.
As Ohio Governor, Kasich has signed every abortion and women’s reproductive health provision that has landed on his desk since he took office in 2011. Planned Parenthood is concerned that because Kasich has billed himself (and is widely considered to be) a moderate alternative, at least compared to the likes of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, voters might overlook his ghastly track record.
(To get a fuller picture of the havoc Kasich has wreaked upon women’s health care in Ohio, read Allie Gross’s piece on the subject in FiveThirtyEight).
Spokespeople for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio were not immediately available for comment by phone or email, but here’s one of the Planned Parenthood ads, which will run on Facebook and other major Ohio news sites.
“Why would Kasich cut funding for life-saving breast and cervical cancer screenings,” it asks, “and 50,000 tests which stop the spread of HIV and other diseases?”
On social media, Planned Parenthood is raising awareness and mobilizing support using the #AskDrKasich hashtag.
Ohioans and Americans deserve answers for why you are attacking reproductive health care. #AskDrKasich pic.twitter.com/ayd6dsjhNs
— Planned Parenthood (@PPact) February 10, 2016
This article appears in Feb 10-16, 2016.
Just in time for the part-time governor to flex his right wing muscles as his full-time quixotic presidential bid limps around the south.