Dear Governor Bill Haslam,

I do feel compelled to write to you or even speak with one of your assistants about the pending budget bill that will support Planned Parenthood for another year with Federal Funding. You say that you are pro-life, and take a pro-life stance, but your unwillingness to use your authority with a line-item veto or your veto shows that you are merely pro-life in name only. After all, you are only being pro-life when it is convenient, not when it might actually cost you something. That is not pro-life. That is just being political in nature. Therefore I call on you to repent of this behavior, take a stand for the lives of those who are dying at the hands of abortionist, and actually be bold for righteousness sake. You are the top official in this state and you will be held accountable by God Himself on judgment day for your actions.

I know, this may seem radical to you to make this claim. If so, this means that you have fallen under the false belief that what we do in our professional lives doesn’t matter to God. It all matters to God. He is concerned for the “least of these.” Those are the words of Christ. What you do or do not do has consequences and we all will be held accountable for our actions or inaction.

I commend Senator Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) for his action in order to bring about the end of funding for Planned Parenthood. He is a man of his word. You might take some pointers from him, or Governor Rick Perry of Texas, who is also pro-life. These men are actually committed to ending abortion and doing everything in their power to stop it.

While you have claimed to be pro-life, your commitment seems to be waning. Why? You have the power to veto the line or the bill and force a special session in order to rectify the problem. Or, is it just too inconvenient to you politically to do so? What are a few more lives when it is inconvenient to you and fellow politicians?

I also wrote your office and here is your office’s response:

No state tax dollars go to Planned Parenthood in the budget passed by the legislature this year. The current issue surrounds federal money passing through the state. I do have a line-item veto to reduce or disapprove a sum of money, but removing legal language - which is at the heart of this matter - would require the budget to be re-approved by the legislature, which has already gone out of session.

I am against tax dollars going to Planned Parenthood, and I am disappointed that the circumstances surrounding the state budget do not allow us to prevent this from happening this year.  But I am already working with Lt. Gov. Ramsey and Speaker Harwell to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not go to Planned Parenthood in future budgets.

Disappointment doesn’t relieve you of responsibility. Action does. If you sign the bill, while you may express disappointment, your actions belie your words. Take a stand. Veto the bill. Do what it takes to make it right, right now. Not at some future date.

Sincerely,

Timothy J. Hammons