Aborting Policy for Politics
The Denver Post
September 5, 1999

Coloradans have always wanted to keep special interest politics out of their government. Governors can-and do-pay back political favors and campaign contributors in their appointments. But, they've resisted using taxpayer dollars as a club to enforce a particular ideology or political agenda.

That is, until now. Governor Owens, an ardent opponent of abortion rights, has decided to cut Planned Parenthood out of state funding for family planning and women's health services in Colorado. Now, the laws on state contracting are clear. Governors cannot pay back political cronies with state contracts, nor can they keep an organization from having a state contract just because they don't agree with what that organization does.

Governors can hire their own personal staffs from among their supporters. But, they can't give highway construction or computer contracts to their pals. When they deal with taxpayers' money, they must be open to all qualified bidders. In the current controversy, Planned Parenthood has been providing health care to women for 20 years. Clearly, they're qualified to bid on future state contracts for women's health services.

Owens and his Health Department executive director, Jane Norton, said they're just upholding the state's constitution by banishing Planned Parenthood. The Constitution reads, "No public funds shall be used by the State of Colorado, its agencies or political subdivisions, to pay or otherwise reimburse, either directly or indirectly, any person or facility for the performance of induced abortion."

Colorado's State Auditor's Office, an independent entity that works for the Legislature, has found over and over again that Planned Parenthood does not violate this provision of the Constitution. Indeed, they've found that Planned Parenthood has not used one penny of state funds to pay for abortions. The governor, who spent 14 years in the Legislature, certainly knows that the Auditor's Office provides independent oversight of state programs and funding.

In addition, since 1984, when voters prohibited using state funds to pay for abortions, Colorado's Attorney General has generally been a Republican. The Attorney General is charged with making sure the executive branch complies with the state's constitution. Not once did the Republican Attorneys General claim that funding Planned Parenthood's clinics violated the constitution. This debate, then, is not about protecting the Constitution. It's about promoting a political agenda with taxpayers' funds.

In its voter guide published during last year's elections, the Christian Coalition asked candidates if they supported or opposed banning all tax money to abortion providers "such as Planned Parenthood". Candidate Bill Owens responded that he supported such a position. Now, he's acting on that pledge to the detriment of women across Colorado.

Why is this spat over Planned Parenthood's funding so important? For one thing, it concerns health-women's health. Planned Parenthood has been providing cancer screenings and family planning services, separate from its abortion services, to 15,000 women in rural Colorado for 20 years. These women depend on Planned Parenthood clinics for vital health care.

But, it's more than that. It's also about keeping political ideology out of state purchasing. I strongly believe in competitive bidding for state contracts. So, I'm not unhappy about having the state open up bidding for health services. What I object to is keeping out some health care providers because the current administration doesn't like abortions, even though they're legal.

Planned Parenthood has decided to spin off its abortion services into a separate corporation so that there can be no question about their compliance with the administration's new interpretation of the Colorado constitution. That should reassure the thousands of women in our state who benefit from their care.

But, we should all ask ourselves the question, "Are we going to make other state contractors jump through the hoops of an elected official's particular ideology to qualify for state funds?" That would break our long-standing tradition of openness and fairness, of running Colorado for the benefit of all our citizens, not just the few who share our political persuasion.

There are good reasons for having purchasing rules that keep politics out of spending decisions. The Planned Parenthood case reinforces the importance of those rules. The governor needs to respect them.