By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

Referring to the organization as an “abortion clinic,” Gov. Matt Blunt announced Monday that he was pulling taxpayer funding for a statewide women’s preventive health program from Planned Parenthood offices in Joplin and Springfield, and moving the funding to other area agencies.

Blunt stopped the remainder of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Missouri’s annual $27,000 funding for the Show Me Healthy Women Program. The program was formed 15 years ago to provide free breast-cancer and cervical-cancer screenings, and Planned Parenthood of Southwest Missouri has been a provider since its inception.

Jessica Robinson, Blunt’s press secretary, said the funding has been transferred to Ozark Tri-County Health Care, with locations in Joplin, Anderson and Cassville, and to Jordan Valley Community Health Center in Springfield. Robinson said the change in providers and funding is being done to avoid any philosophical or moral objections women may have to visiting an office with an organizational name tied to abortion providers.

“It could prove a conflict of interest for some people because it shares a funding stream,” Robinson said.

Kellie Rohrbaugh, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Southwest Missouri, said her office was blindsided when it received notification Monday that funding for the free screenings would end in 30 to 60 days. Rohrbaugh said the local Planned Parenthood operation is not and has never been an abortion provider. Two of the four Planned Parenthood organizations in Missouri perform abortions, but Rohrbaugh said the other two, including the Southwest Missouri group, do not. She said the Planned Parenthood divisions that do provide abortions were not receiving Show Me Healthy Women Program funding.

While acknowledging that the Southwest Missouri offices don’t provide abortions, Robinson said the organization is known for its abortion-rights stance and for advising women about where they can go to have abortions. The decision to stop Planned Parenthood’s funding was directly based on Blunt’s anti-abortion values, Robinson said.

“Patients should not have to go to an abortion clinic to access life-saving tests,” Blunt said in a written statement. “Today (Monday) I put an end to taxpayer dollars going to Planned Parenthood in Springfield and Joplin through the Show Me Healthy Women Program. This ensures women may access important preventative care without contributing to abortion providers’ goal of facilitating the destruction of innocent life.”

Rohrbaugh called Blunt’s announcement “shocking” and “misguided,” and said Planned Parenthood provides nearly 6,000 women with annual exams each year.

Blunt also said he is asking the General Assembly for $500,000 in additional state funds for the Show Me Healthy Women Program.