On February 18th the following letter was printed in my local South Bend Tribune:
Defund
As a mother of an active almost 3-year-old and another baby I lost, standing up for life is very important to me. Not only do I believe that the lives of our unborn children are precious, I believe the government should not provide funds to organizations that provide abortions like Planned Parenthood. I choose life and I choose candidates that choose life, which is why I support Congresswoman Jackie Walorski and her continued commitment to defund Planned Parenthood.
Maria Mola
South Bend
The following is my response:
I would like to respond to a February 18th letter in the Voice of the People titled “Defund.” The letter writer states that she is pro-life and that she doesn’t believe that federal funds should be devoted to Planned Parenthood. A position that I support 100%.
What I disagree with is her support for Jackie Walorski because of her “continued commitment to defund Planned Parenthood.” I will never cast another vote for Ms. Walorski because, while she claims to be pro-life, when it comes time to make a concrete stand she continues to disappoint. In January of 2015 the Republicans were considering the “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” which would effectively ban all abortions after 20 weeks. The Act had wide-spread support, but the vote never took place. Quoting the Washington Post at the time “But Republican leaders dropped those plans after failing to win over a bloc of lawmakers, led by Reps. Rene Ellmers (R-N.C.) and Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), who had raised concerns.” I have trouble worrying about those wording “concerns” once a pregnancy reaches 5 months.
Just last December Ms. Walorski voted for the 2016 omnibus spending bill which included another year of full funding for Planned Parenthood. The GOP, knowing that their vote was unpopular, followed up by passing a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood, as expected it was quickly vetoed by President Obama making it a meaningless show vote.
So I would ask anyone in Indiana’s 2nd District to consider carefully a vote for Jackie Walorski.
Mark Watkins
markE watkins 