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| President Barack Obama is greeted by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels as he steps off Air Force One in Indianapolis, Ind., Friday, May 6, 2011. |
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a measure Tuesday imposing some of the nation's tightest restrictions on abortions and making Indiana the first state to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood of Indiana immediately went to court in an effort to stop the law. U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt is expected to rule Wednesday on the request.
Daniels, a Republican known as a fiscal hawk, is considering a run for president in 2012. Adding his signature to the abortion bill will likely help his image among social conservatives who were upset over Daniels' previous calls for a Republican "truce" on social issues.
Daniels didn't advocate publicly for the bill, and it wasn't part of his legislative agenda. But he said he supported the abortion restrictions from the outset and that the provision added to defund abortion providers did not change his mind.
He signed the bill into law Tuesday along with 79 other bills. The law cuts off about $3 million in public funds used to pay for services such as birth control, cancer screening and tests for sexually transmitted diseases.
Planned Parenthood says the measure is unconstitutional and violates federal law. It says 22,000 patients could be left without access to Pap tests and other non-abortion services.
While the law cuts off the stream of funding for Planned Parenthood immediately, organization President Betty Cockrum said its offices would open Wednesday to see scheduled patients. Cockrum said the organization will use its Women's Health Fund to cover the cost of patients who rely on federal funding for birth control or health exams.
"It's very bad for the state of Indiana," Cockrum said of the law. "It's a very bad direction for public health policy."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the request for an injunction and temporary restraining order on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Indiana. ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk said the judge heard arguments from both sides on the temporary restraining order seeking to prevent the defunding the state's 27 Planned Parenthood locations. He said the public funding has nothing to do with abortion and is used to provide necessary medical services, primarily to women.
"Family planning dollars fund preventive health services that are critical to low-income and vulnerable women and their families," Falk said. "It is unlawful, unnecessary and cruel to deny these populations health services that they desperately need."
Cockrum and Falk declined to comment on how long Planned Parenthood would be able to continue seeing patients if the judge does not rule in their favor.
"I think we'll have to wait and see what happens tomorrow," Falk said.
Indiana Right to Life President Mike Fichter said Planned Parenthood was trying to use a "delay tactic" to keep public funding coming as long as possible. He said he was confident the law would stand.
"Governor Daniels has now established Indiana as one of the leading pro-life states in the nation," he said in a statement Tuesday.
The law puts Indiana at risk of losing $4 million a year in federal family planning grants. It also bans abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy unless there is a substantial threat to the woman's life or health. That's four weeks less than previously allowed.
Daniels says he'll decide soon whether to seek the GOP nomination. Republican supporters say his support for the abortion bill will trump any concerns social conservatives had over the truce on social issues.
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