Lt. Gov. McNally Criticizes Metro Council’s Pro-Abortion Travel Plan

Image Credit: Lt. Gov. Randy McNally / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally is speaking out against a proposed half-million dollar grant that would use Tennessee taxpayer money to compensate women who go outside of the state to have an abortion.

Nashville’s Metro Council is set to vote on the proposal next month. If passed, Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi would receive a $500,000 grant to provide financial compensation in the form of items like hotel vouchers and gas cards to Davidson County women who travel across state lines to obtain abortions. A portion of the funding would also be used towards “sex education efforts” in Nashville.

The legislation is sponsored by Council Members Delishia Porterfield, Sandra Sepulveda, Emily Benedict, Ginny Walsh, Freddie O’Connell, Bob Mendes, Sean Parker, and Tom Cash.

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, a state law was triggered, banning the majority of abortions completely except in extreme cases where it is necessary to prevent death or serious and permanent bodily injury to the mother. That law went into effect on August 25th.

McNally noted the antagonistic nature of the proposal, stating that it was obvious that the Council was simply trying to prove a point.

“This is a clear attempt by pro-abortion extremists on the Metro Council to subvert the will of the people and its legislature,” McNally said in a statement to Main Street Nashville. “Long before the Supreme Court returned abortion law to the states, Tennesseans have opposed government funding of abortion. This move was clearly designed to provoke a reaction.”

The vote will take place on October 4 because of a provision in the Metro Charter that says that all money that is reallocated from budget funds that were previously assigned has to take place at the end of the quarter.

Title X restricts the Council from taking funding from the Nashville Public Health Department for the grant. The current proposal would reallocate money from the payroll of Metro Council, Mayor’s Office staff, and Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure.

While those funding sources could be changed before next month’s vote, McNally believes there are more important places that the extra money could be spent.

“Considering Metro’s high property taxes and notoriously weak fiscal position, the council would be well advised to use these dollars to pay off debt or provide tax relief, rather than play politics with stunt legislation,” stated McNally.

Council member O’Connell says that the reallocation plan has not been finalized.

“I don’t know if this is what will be final. We’re going to continue to review and work with the administration and Finance over the next couple of meetings,” O’Connell stated. “We’ll see if this is the final recommendation on where to pull funds from.”

The Metro Council is in a rush to try and push the proposal through before the state can look at legislation that would prevent state governments from using taxpayer money for organizations that help to provide abortion related services.

After the Shelby County Commission gave a $25,000 grant to CHOICES, an abortion provider in the area, Republican Representative Tom Leatherwood proposed a bill that would ban governments from giving taxpayer funds to organizations that provide elective abortions.

“We’re talking about taxpayer dollars here and taking money from people who do not support abortion, and spending their tax dollars on something they disagree with,” Leatherwood said at a March subcommittee meeting on the bill.

The bill passed in the state House of Representatives but it was not looked at in the Senate.

It is expected that a new similar bill will be filed before the new General Assembly begins in January.

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com