The state of Arizona will no longer facilitate donations made by state workers to Planned Parenthood, a non-government organisation recently embroiled in controversy after some of the group's employees were caught on video admitting the illegal sale of aborted foetal parts and callous and even cruel treatment of unborn children.
Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey said he "absolutely supports" proposals to exclude Planned Parenthood from the state-initiated programme, called the State Employee Charitable Campaign, the Daily Signal reported.
Ducey's support for this move will essentially disallow state employees from making donations facilitated by the state government of Arizona to Planned Parenthood, either through payroll deduction or a one-time payment.
This decision by Ducey, a pro-life official who also serves as the chairman of the State Employee Charitable Campaign, is seen as another major blow for Planned Parenthood, whose donors have backed out one by one after the controversy on the group's baby body part sale and other nefarious practices broke out.
Ducey's spokesman, Daniel Scarpinato, nevertheless explained that state employees can still donate to Planned Parenthood if they choose to do so, but the Arizona state government will no longer play any part in the enterprise.
"[Governor Ducey] has made it clear that the state of Arizona should not be involved in facilitating contributions to a controversial organisation of this kind," Scarpinato said.
As expected, Ducey's decision did not sit well with local Planned Parenthood officials, who branded the move as politically motivated.
Annet Ruiter, Planned Parenthood Arizona's external affairs vice president, accused the state government of curtailing state workers' right to choose which charitable institution they want to support.
"The money is not what it's really about. It's about taking state employees' rights away by saying what they can and can't donate [their own] salary to," Ruiter said, as quoted by the Daily Signal.
She also questioned why the group Alliance Defending Freedom, which is a pro-life Christian legal fund that has actively called to defund Planned Parenthood, has been included in the list of Arizona's eligible non-profits.
Ruiter admitted that Planned Parenthood stands to lose $7,000 to $8,000 annually as a result of Ducey's decision.
Jodi Liggett, another Planned Parenthood spokeswoman, however, earlier admitted to the Associated Press that some of the donations given to the organisation go to the funding of abortion services.
"So the individual donations coming through the [State Employee Charitable Campaign] do in part pay for abortions," she said. "In fact, many of our donors specifically want to fund this service knowing that women in dire circumstances may not have the financial means to pay for a needed abortion."
