May 16, 2011; Source: Huffington Post | The state of Indiana has banned the use of Medicaid to pay for services – any services – to Planned Parenthood. Indiana House Bill 1210 was signed into law last week presumably to prevent the use of that money in funding state abortions – even though, of course – the use of federal money to fund abortions is already prohibited by the Hyde Amendment.

Now Planned Parenthood of Indiana says that a flood of donations has poured in from hundreds of donors across the country and that the clinics will use these as replacement money so that Medicaid funded patients will be covered in the near term. But that won’t be the answer long term.

The American Civil Liberties Union is joining with PPIN to file an injunction against the law in federal court, alleging that it flouts federal Medicaid rules and the 14th Amendment. The hearing will be in June.

Nonprofit Newswire readers should watch for similar bills in their own states and move quickly to state their positions. As we have stated before, allowing these types of specious attacks on others in our midst as part and parcel of political posturing is just plain dumb. As the saying goes “First they came for the Jews…” —Ruth McCambridge