Alexandra Gutierrez chronicles how Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell’s decision to veto a children and women’s health care bill that includes funding for abortion has spurred a backlash — and not just from liberals:
Gov. Sean Parnell’s veto should have been popular, or at least uncontroversial, in a red state where the marquee initiative on the August ballot would potentially jail doctors who fail to notify parents of teenagers seeking abortions. But the funding wasn’t just for abortion. Senate Bill 13 was an expansion of the Denali KidCare program, the state children’s health insurance program (SCHIP) that covers low-income children and pregnant women. The outcry over what should have been a politically safe move points to the difficulty conservatives face when they pursue limits on abortion in state-funded health care.