Arizona continues to push its way into the Deep South with Gov. Jan Brewer recently signing two bills. The first outlaws abortions after 20 weeks and the second “that bans the state or any local government from using public money to contract with an organization that includes abortions in its services.”
The bill was signed at a political reception for the Susan B. Anthony List. The law basically stops all funding for state and local governments to Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood of Arizona officials have said the bill targets them and is intended to impact non-abortion services they provide, such as cancer screenings, birth control and well-woman exams. Fewer than one in 10 women seek abortion services from Planned Parenthood of Arizona, according to the organization.
“I think it’s also instructive that the place that the governor would sign this is at a political rally — it might be an elegant political rally, but it is a 100 percent political event, and that speaks volumes about what this legislation was about from day one,” said Bryan Howard, president of Planned Parenthood of Arizona. “But while the impetus for the governor is political, and for the sponsors it’s political, the impact is on health care for poor Arizonans, and that is a terrible, terrible trade-off.”