Religious Zealotry Is Fun For Everybody, Part II

In my previous posting, I commented on State Del. Robert Marshall (R-VA) and his recent press conference regarding the state funding received by the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood. And while Marshall continued to unsuccessfully justify his offensive remarks towards disabled children, additional elements of this story have surfaced.

Marshall has claimed that Planned Parenthood receives approximately $500,000 annually from the State of Virginia. However, he was (not surprisingly) unable to provide any evidence for that number when asked to do so. Craig Markva, the Director of Communication at the Department of Medical Assistance Services, stated that the $35,006 Planned Parenthood received in the 2009 fiscal year was strictly from Medicaid re-imbursements. And according to a Freedom of Information Act request filed in January, the Department of Health was engaged in a contract with Planned Parenthood to provide HIV prevention services in juvenile detention centers, for which Planned Parenthood received more than $28,000 during the 2009 fiscal year. Maybe it's just me but there seems to be a rather large gap between $63,000 and $500,000.

Of course, the pro-life nutjobs would lead you to believe that Planned Parenthood is performing abortion after abortion behind closed doors, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. But every rational individual realizes that it is not the case. In fact, the organization provides a number of different services, including general health care (cholesterol screening, flu vaccinations, etc.), HIV testing, hepatitis vaccinations, men's health (infertility screenings, prostate and testicular cancer screenings, etc.) and women's health (breast exams, cervical cancer screenings, etc.)

Aside from Marshall, another issue proving to be just as annoying to Planned Parenthood are pro-choice bills currently in both the Senate and House of Delegates within the General Assembly. Sponsored by the organization itself, this legislation advocates a speciality license plate with the slogan "Trust Women. Respect Choice." and would counteract the "Choose Life” license plate approved by the General Assembly last year. State Del. Todd Gilbert (R-VA) amended the House version of the bill last month, directing a portion of the revenue from the new license plate to the Virginia Pregnant Women Support Fund managed by the State of Virginia. (Gilbert proposed the amendment because apparently he and his XY chromosomes disagree with the actions of Planned Parenthood: "I don’t know if we’ve ever had a plate that had a message that was inconsistent…with the mission of the sponsoring organization. They consistently do not trust women to make informed choices.")

Now back to what Gilbert proposed. The Department of Motor Vehicles has reported that at least 1,899 of the "Choose Life" license plates have been purchased since 2009, channeling $13,485 to Heartbeat International, a non-profit Christian organization which funds anti-abortion pregnancy resource centers worldwide. Therefore, if the "Choose Life" license plate is directing funds to organizations such as Heartbeat International, then why should the new license plate be responsible for that as well? By the way, up until it was recently reported by "The Washington Post", one pregnancy center, the Mattingly Test Center in Ashburn, VA, was listed as a certified clinic (in other words, in good standing and eligible for funding) on Heartbeat International's web site. This is despite the fact that the Mattingly Test Center is a two-story brick residence with no signs indicating a clinic even exists, no record as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the Internal Revenue Service and no registry as a corporation with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Is it possible that the clinic was listed on the web site for Heartbeat International because it is owned by Linda Mattingly, who is a former Vice President at Care Net, a Virginia based anti-abortion organization similar to Heartbeat International? Kristin Hansen, the Vice President of Communications at Care Net, amazingly claimed that the Mattingly Test Center is "not an entity we are aware of" and its designation as a certified clinic must have been an "inadvertent mistake" by Care Net. And if that wasn't enough, Peggy Hartshorn, the President of Heartbeat International, attempted to avoid the subject, stating the emphasis placed be placed on "the incredible work" that pregnancy centers provide. Hartshorn also contended that officials at Heartbeat International will closely examine pregnancy centers in Virginia as the state funding becomes available. I, of course, would have assumed that was already occurring but I guess not when nepotism comes into play.

Last but not least, representatives from Planned Parenthood have insisted that the revenue earned from the new license plate will not be appropriated for abortions but instead for preventative services, such as cancer and HIV screenings. Gilbert's response? "Well, it certainly frees up other money that they can use for abortion services." This is obviously a complete stretch. That's like saying the funds Heartbeat International receives from the sale of the "Choose Life" license plates are distributed to fake pregnancy centers owned by former executives at similar organizations. Then again, maybe it wasn't a stretch.