In Florida, here comes the "what".
Tea Partiers can rag on congressional Republicans for failing to defund Planned Parenthood all they want, and it'll all be unjustified, since federal PP funding flows through Medicaid, requiring that entitlement's repeal as a prerequisite, which is parsecs outside the "Overton Window". But they have no grounds for complaining about the good work of Republican governors and State legislatures around the country in this regard, as Florida's Rick Scott has just joined the PP-slayer ring of honor:
Florida Governor Rick Scott on Friday signed a law that cuts off State funding for preventive health services to clinics providing abortion and imposes abortion restrictions already being tested before the U.S. Supreme Court....
The bill, which easily passed the Republican-controlled legislature earlier this month, has been the target of television advertisements by Planned Parenthood and protests at the Capitol by women urging a veto.
John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council, called the law "a historic victory," in a statement.
State funding of abortion was already prohibited, but the new law also blocks money for services for low-income women at the clinics.
It also requires doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital - a type of formal affiliation that can be difficult to obtain - within a "reasonable" distance of clinics.
In addition, the law requires annual inspection of clinics by health authorities and tightened rules on disposal of aborted fetal tissue. [emphasis added]
Nice touch, Florida GOP. And nice work.
Of course, this law will be injuncted before the weekend is out, and the end of next week at the absolute latest, but I think even TPers can agree that Governor Scott and Sunshine State legislators certainly deserve an "A" for effort. After all, who knows how many unborn lives may be saved in just the next few days?
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