A week ago, in the face of a grant for a little over six thousand dollars to provide long term birth control options through the public health center, Saline County Commission voted unanimously to refuse the state funds.
Their decision prompted a lot of back and forth and some heated meetings, which were documented here:
http://www.kwch.com/...
At the heart of this vote was John Price, a conservative commissioner who issued his note to the local network in attendance:
FactFinder 12 Investigator Lauren Seabrook talked with Commissioner John Price, who said he did not have time to go on camera Wednesday, but says he feels signing his name to money that pays for intrauterine devices, or IUDs, is like killing babies.
The meeting became contentious and heated.
Some people in Saline County think Price does not want to hear much of anything from citizens. "Your decisions are not met with favor by the people. You need to make more time when you make your decisions," said one person at last week's meeting.
"You're talking about nitty gritty baby things," responded Price. "You're talking about me not saying God on this issue. You got after me because I said God. We salute the flag and say in God we trust and you didn't like that. That is not the issue. If that's your issue, you need to go leave America and go where they don't have God."
As Price referred to constituents as 'stupid' and encouraged them to leave the country where God didn't operate.
Today, the Saline County Commissioners reconvened to discuss this issue again, and I made may my way to Salina to hear it first hand and talk to those there.
In a crowded room of cameras and press, Commissioner John Price stuck to his guns, pointing out the cost of birth control and asking why the county should supply as much as it does.. and what makes for an abortion. (Note, he gets on his roll and sticks with it at about 1:30 in on)
In the above video clip, Commissioner Price connects IUDs and Injectibles with Abortion, argues that you can see a test tube baby and says 'you can see the form before you implant it' (this must be some new science fiction stuff) (how is this possible?) before implantation, backing up his point regarding the idea that conception is the moment of life, he links the morning after pill with abortion..
Commissioner Price notes he's not against birth control.. and then goes on to point out that birth control should be at the higher cost, it isn't the county duty to accept the funds to help make birth control cheaper, and since this is open to the public who applies that rich people will make use of it.
In an amazing act of public disclosure of someone's medical status, Commissioner Price reveals that the Mayor's wife gets her birth control from the county health office.. I'm sure she loved the idea of having her personal information used in a public meeting with cameras all over.
He goes on to say it absolutely is his job and moral authority to make this decision, and he will stand opposed.
Through the course of the meeting, the commission decided that they were not well enough informed to vote, and instead they would table the vote and come back to it next week.
After the meeting, Chairman Randy Duncan explained where the commission was on this issue:
So in summary:
God Doesn't work outside of the US.
You can make out little humans in a test tube before they are implanted.
The morning after pill is abortion.
IUD or longterm birth control are abortion.
People with money get services.
We can out people's private medical information in a public meeting to make a point.
The county should not consider these options.
They will re-consider next week.
The county has until the end of the month to use the grant or lose it, which means, after an interview with their health department after that they would need to order by the last week of June, giving them 5 days before the end of the month to comply.