Less than an hour after this morning's post on the contract for Planned Parenthood to hire outreach guides for the healthcare exchange as part of the Affordable Care Act— in which Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford expressed confidence that approval would come if the contract was "perfected" to define a "clear scope of work"—Rep. David Meeks tweeted in response: "unacceptable." Meeks followed up:
I will continue to oppose ANY taxpayer funds going to Planned Parenthood. #arleg#prolife
— StateRep David Meeks (@DavidMeeks) June 13, 2013
Of course, Planned Parenthood wouldn't be getting a dime for the organization, they will simply be an entity that hires people to be guides (UPDATE: to be clear, a small percentage of the funding is allocated for the administrative costs of hiring the guides; my point is that the money is not going to the regular services of the entities). The guides will be licensed and trained, and paid $12 an hour to do outreach and education to let people know they're eligible for health insurance and help them sign up.
The guides have nothing to do with abortion. But if there is an opportunity to demagogue Planned Parenthood, Meeks will take it.