"Donald Trump's running mate has said that "life is winning in Indiana"—and the biggest winner is probably a chain of crisis pregnancy centers that landed a $3.5 million contract in funds originally intended for poor Hoosiers.
Much has been made of Republican Gov. Mike Pence's record on LGBTQ issues. In 2000, when he was running for U.S. representative, Pence wrote that "Congress should oppose any effort to recognize homosexual's [sic] as a 'discreet and insular minority' [sic] entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities." He also said that funds meant to help people living with HIV or AIDS should no longer be given to organizations that provide HIV prevention services because they "celebrate and encourage" homosexual activity. Instead, he proposed redirecting those funds to anti-LGBTQ "conversion therapy" programs, which have been widely discredited by the medical community as being ineffective and dangerous.
Under Pence, ideology has replaced evidence in many areas of public life. In fact, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has just hired a running mate who, in the past year, has reallocated millions of dollars in public funds intended to provide food and health care for needy families to anti-choice crisis pregnancy centers.
Gov. Pence, who declined multiple requests for an interview with Rewire, has been outspoken about his anti-choice agenda. Currently, Indiana law requires people seeking abortions to receive in-person "counseling" and written information from a physician or other health-care provider 18 hours before the abortion begins. And thanks, in part, to other restrictive laws making it more difficult for clinics to operate, there are currently six abortion providers in Indiana, and none in the northern part of the state. Only four of Indiana's 92 counties have an abortion provider. All this means that many people in need of abortion care are forced to take significant time off work, arrange child care, and possibly pay for a place to stay overnight in order to obtain it.
This environment is why a contract quietly signed by Pence last fall with the crisis pregnancy center umbrella organization Real Alternatives is so potentially dangerous for Indiana residents seeking abortion: State-subsidized crisis pregnancy centers not only don't provide abortion but seek to persuade people out of seeking abortion, thus limiting their options.
I understand that helping any organization needing money is impossible. There’s no money to support any needy structure. However, AIDS and HIV are highly important problems in today’s words and as for me, it’s wrong to say that “funds should no longer be given to organizations that provide HIV prevention services because they "celebrate and encourage" homosexual activity”. Needy organizations can’t apply to use help of Same Day Loans Pay Day service because they need relatively big amounts of money to keep their activity. I do not understand why there is so much hate to LGBT today.
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