Scott Tibbs
The city council should not fund abortions
By Scott Tibbs, October 12, 2022
Note: This is an open letter to the Bloomington City Council.
Councilors,
Our nation is embroiled in a culture war, and the divide between "red" and "blue" is deeper than it has been in my lifetime and it is getting worse. At times like this, responsible civic leaders
on both sides need to take a step back and avoid divisive policies that pit people against each other. Make no mistake: If you vote to approve spending tax money to directly pay for abortions, you are the aggressor in the culture war.
For twenty three years now, the city council has claimed when giving grant after grant to Planned Parenthood that the public money does not directly support abortion services. We always knew this was a smoke screen, and the grants to a multinational corporation that does not need the money were always a pro-abortion political statement. Last week, our city leaders finally tore the mask off and proposed $100,000 to directly fund abortions, on top of $2,300 in travel reimbursement for city employees who travel for abortions.
Your pro-life constituents have been appealing to you since 1999 not to give our tax money to Planned Parenthood, because of Planned Parenthood's abortion clinic. This new proposal is an escalation of that policy, moving from funding non-abortion aspects of PP's business model to directly funding abortions.
I understand that there are many people in this city who support "abortion rights" but there are also many who are deeply opposed to abortion. You are telling all of your pro-life constituents that not only do their beliefs and their faith not matter, but that you will directly insult them by using their tax money in a way they believe is morally abominable. And let's be very clear here: This is a proposal to use tax money to directly pay for the slaughter of innocent babies.
There is an alternative. City government could work with private charities, allowing people to freely donate of their own money to pay for travel and medical expenses for out of state abortions. There are a number of private charities and political organizations, both in Bloomington and beyond the borders of Monroe County, that could provide these funds without forcing pro-life taxpayers to directly pay for slaughtering babies in their mother's wombs.
Please turn aside from this wicked misuse of the taxes that your constituents have entrusted to you. Please do not force us to directly subsidize killing the unborn. If you are truly pro-choice instead of pro-abortion, please respect the choice of your constituents who do not want to be forced to participate in this cruel practice.
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