Ohio bill targets grant money going to Planned Parenthood

COLUMBUS (AP) — An Ohio bill that aims to divert more than $1 million in federal funding away from Planned Parenthood has passed a legislative committee after dozens of opponents urged the panel’s members to vote against it.

The proposal that cleared the Senate’s Government and Oversight Committee on Wednesday targets the grants administered by the Ohio Department of Health that the organization receives. The government money supports initiatives for HIV testing, breast and cervical cancer screenings and prevention of violence against women.

The legislation follows the release of secretly recorded videos by anti-abortion activists showing Planned Parenthood employees describing how they provide fetal tissue from abortions for medical research. Planned Parenthood says the videos are heavily edited and misleading.

The proposal could be before the full Senate as soon as Wednesday afternoon.