by JivinJ, host of the blog, JivinJehoshaphat

• Planned Parenthood of Indiana may regret bragging about how money donations increased after Indiana defunded them since it adds credence to the argument that PP doesn’t need government support:

  “The more private money that Planned Parenthood receives, the more it proves that it doesn’t need public funds,” said Mike Fichter, president of Indiana Right to Life. “Instead of complaining about not receiving government money, they have to go out and raise the money like other organizations.”State Sen. Scott Schneider, an Indianapolis Republican who sponsored the measure to defund PP, said the amount of donations coming in raises a legitimate question of why taxpayer money was ever sent to the organization.

  “What makes them different than any other not-for-profit?” Schneider said. “There’s no reason why they can’t have a capital campaign or some sort of private campaign to raise funds.”

• Michael Potemra comments on Tim Pawlenty’s pro-life credibility.
• A young woman in the UK has been convicted of arson after setting ablaze the house of her former boyfriend who broke up with her and allegedly convinced her to have an abortion.

• At The Hill, Marianne Mollmann (pictured left) from the Human Rights Watch has a column on what she thinks the Gallup poll proves with regards to abortion. Somehow she concludes that the only “common sense” policy countries should have on abortion is to make it “safe” and “legal.” She’s got some great quotes though:Study after study has shown that women and girls have abortions when they need them, regardless of the legal or political context.

  Really? Which studies are those? Care to provide or cite any of them? No? Okay.

  Knowing this, politicians should realize that the only 2 things a government can affect through legislation and policies are 1) to what extent abortions are needed; and 2) to what extent abortions are safe.

  So they can’t set any time periods for when abortion is illegal (like in most of Europe)? They can’t successfully implement waiting periods and restrictions on minor abortions? Also, notice all the “need” talk. I thought abortion was a choice. Now it’s apparently a need.

  The only suggestion Mollman makes to keep abortion “safe” is to make it legal. Maybe she doesn’t follow the news but making abortion legal doesn’t necessarily make it safe for women. Case in point: Kermit Gosnell, or perhaps the numerous abortions in South Africa provided by quacks who get their hands on a bunch of RU-486. While Mollman claims (without citation) that 35% of pregnancies in Chile are ended by illegal abortions, she doesn’t note that the country has a very low maternal mortality rate.

[Photo via hrw.org]