Ind. Gov. Daniels cuts funds to Planned Parenthood
By DEANNA MARTIN, Associated Press
May 10, 2011 5:12 PM CDT
President Barack Obama talks with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels as he steps off Air Force One upon his arrival in Indianapolis, Ind., Friday, May 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)   (Associated Press)

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a measure Tuesday imposing some of the nation's tightest restrictions on abortions and making Indiana the first state to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood.

The Republican governor is considering a run for president in 2012, and adding his signature to the abortion bill could help his image among social conservatives who were upset over Daniels' previous calls for a Republican "truce" on social issues.

Daniels, known as a fiscal hawk, didn't advocate publicly for the bill, and it wasn't part of his legislative agenda. But he said he supported the abortion restrictions from the outset and that the provision added to defund abortion providers did not change his mind.

He signed the bill into law Tuesday along with 79 other bills.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana said it will seek a temporary restraining order and injunction Tuesday in federal court to try to keep the funding in place. The organization says the law _ which would cut off about $3 million in public funds used to pay for services such as birth control, cancer screening and tests for sexually transmitted diseases _ is unconstitutional and violates federal law.

Planned Parenthood maintains the new law, which takes effect immediately, could leave as many as 22,000 patients without access to Pap tests and other non-abortion services.

Daniels says he'll decide soon whether to seek the GOP nomination. Republican supporters say his support for the abortion bill will trump any concerns social conservatives had over the truce on social issues.

State Rep. Eric Turner, a Republican from Cicero who sponsored the abortion bill, said earlier that no one will talk about Daniels' truce once the bill becomes law.

"People in the conservative community care about action, and he's clearly the most pro-life governor in America with a signature on that bill," he said when Daniels announced his support for the proposal.

___

AP reporter Deanna Martin can be reached at http://twitter.com/deanna_martin