Gov. John Kasich hasn’t been back in Ohio for several weeks, but was in Columbus this weekend.
As Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports, Kasich made good on his promise to sign a controversial bill.
Though there were calls for him to veto it, it was no secret Kasich would sign the measure stripping $1.3 million from Planned Parenthood, which he did in private.
The bill had Republican support but also a Democratic sponsor in Rep. Bill Patmon of Cleveland. It moves mostly federal money sent to Ohio for HIV testing, cancer screenings and educational programs to community health centers, and bans those funds from going to organizations that provide abortions.
Democrats blasted the completely expected action, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio put out a statement that said in part, “tens of thousands of Ohioans were betrayed by their government” and that Kasich should be ashamed for claiming he’s helping fight infant mortality while defunding programs for young mothers and children.
