OFFICE OF REPRESENTATIVES ROBERT BENVENUTI, TIM COUCH, KIM KING, STAN LEE,
DAVID MEADE, TIM MOORE & RUSSELL WEBBER
FRANKFORT, Ky. (September 16, 2015) – “Over the summer, highly-publicized videos have documented the widespread and ongoing practice by Planned Parenthood to proactively engage in the harvesting and selling of baby body parts.
Former employees have testified that this revenue-generating strategy is at the heart of Planned Parenthood’s business model. Following that disturbing revelation, State Representatives learned that the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services allows significant taxpayer dollars to flow to Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.
Last Friday, after repeated requests to Executive Branch agencies trying to determine the amount of taxpayer dollars flowing through and from Kentucky State government to Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, seven Kentucky State Representatives wrote to Kentucky Auditor Adam Edelen and Treasurer Todd Hollenbach calling on them to investigate and audit the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Kentucky citizens have a legal and moral right to know with certainty how their tax dollars are being spent.
Although these Constitutional elected officers were respectfully requested to immediately advise us of their intentions and the timeframe that their results would be forthcoming, the Auditor has refused to respond, and the Treasurer says he will not honor our request for an investigation.
For that reason, we are releasing our correspondence as open letters.
While Governor Beshear has stated that he doesn’t “really see any issue to get riled up about,” we, along with countless Kentuckians, are outraged and disgusted by the clear evidence that Planned Parenthood has callously engaged in the harvesting and selling of baby body parts. On behalf of those citizens we have demanded: (1) a fully transparent accounting of how much of their money is going to support Planned Parenthood; (2) that the tax dollars of Kentucky citizens immediately stop going to support Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky; and (3) that State Government take affirmative steps to ensure that the Commonwealth of Kentucky does not, directly or indirectly, facilitate Planned Parenthood or any other organization that engages in the harvesting or selling of the body parts of babies.
Given the clear unwillingness of the Beshear Administration to take these matters seriously, we have called upon Auditor Edelen and Treasurer Hollenbach to get to the bottom of who exactly is funding these atrocities. The source of these public funds is irrelevant if Kentucky State Government is providing financial support that aids or abets in these crimes against humanity. Likewise, we remind the Executive Branch that except in emergency situations, only the Kentucky General Assembly has the constitutional authority to direct where funds, collected by the Kentucky Treasurer, will be appropriated.”
Rep. Robert Benvenuti, State Representative, 88th District
Rep. Tim Couch, State Representative, 90th District
Rep. Kim King, State Representative, 55th District
Rep. Stan Lee, State Representative, 45th District
Rep. David Meade, State Representative, 80th District
Rep. Tim Moore, State Representative, 18th District
Rep. Russell Webber, State Representative, 26th District
