Chanting “Mister, Mister, get your hands off my sister,” supporters of Planned Parenthood of Indiana rallied Monday along West Jefferson Boulevard. Many motorists honked in support, while a few offered obscene gestures.

The rally was one of several planned across the state to voice opposition to new legislation that Gov. Mitch Daniels has said he will sign into law. The law would add new restrictions for abortions in the state and strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood and other organizations that perform abortions, even though Planned Parenthood of Indiana already is prohibited from using any of its federal dollars to fund abortions.

Jessica Marquart, an educator at the local Planned Parenthood clinic in the 3900 block of West Jefferson Boulevard, said Fort Wayne was one of 28 Indiana centers taking part in the rallies. The 30 or so people who showed up for the rally were about what she expected, she said.

Holding a sign that said “Pro Faith, Pro Medicine, Pro Planned Parenthood,” Kathryn “Katie” Carboneau, a Fort Wayne physician, said there was never any evidence to back up the medical information being disseminated by legislators.

“Not one medical person was asked (by legislators) to vouch for the accuracy of the information they were receiving,” Carboneau said. “We’re all in trouble when government starts intruding in patient-doctor relationships.

Indiana would be the first state to ban federal funding to Planned Parenthood, the oldest and largest sexual and reproductive health care organization in the United States.

That loss could exceed $3 million, according to Kate Shepherd, Planned Parenthood of Indiana’s director of communications.

Under the bill, abortions would be limited to the first 19 weeks of pregnancy; doctors who perform them must have hospital privileges in the county of service or an adjacent county; and Indiana’s informed consent law would be expanded.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana called on Daniels to veto the bill, warning that the state will face a costly lawsuit and the potential costs of more unintended pregnancies, Medicaid-covered births and even more abortions.

“It does not matter what side of the issue you are on, it’s a really bad idea for politicians to dictate medical advice and pass it into law,” said Carboneau, who is a member of the Indiana Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and also teaches sex education classes at her church.

In addition to Fort Wayne, other Planned Parenthood centers in northeast Indiana include Warsaw, Elkhart and Mishawaka.

Elkhart is the only center completely funded by federal dollars, according to Shepherd.

“But care for all patients at all centers could be affected,” Shepherd said.

Fort Wayne serves the most patients of the four centers, according to Planned Parenthood information.

The Fort Wayne clinic saw 3,476 patients last year, and 288, or 8.2 percent, were funded through Medicaid, Shepherd said. In Warsaw, 8.2 percent of the 1,146 patients seen were Medicaid patients.

Nancy Getzin, 80, of Fort Wayne, heard about the rally at her church and immediately called her friend, Cynthia Power, 72, of Roanoke. The two women said they were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who were honking and waving.

“I am a long-term supporter of Planned Parenthood,” Power said. “Things were different 50 years ago” and not in a good way, she said.

“Family planning is a family value,” Power said.

It was the first time 22-year-old Allison O’Brian of Auburn had ever participated in such an event.

“I read about the bill that was passed and I thought it was horrible,” O’Brian said. “To lose all of their Medicaid funding – that’s not right.”

Federal law prohibits states from choosing which providers can offer family planning care to Medicaid patients, and Indiana will be the first to prohibit Medicaid patients from Planned Parenthood’s services.

O’Brian’s decision was not one she confided to many people. She said her parents are Catholic and are abortion-rights opponents, but they respect her views.

“(My parents) also do not think legislators should get involved in this,” O’Brian said. “They believe that abortions can be reduced or prevented through federally funded child care and other support programs.”

Planned Parenthood of Indiana saw 85,030 patients in Indiana during the fiscal year 2010, Shepherd said. “Of those, 74 percent were at or below 150 percent of the poverty line.”

The organization plans to file an injunction if and when the governor signs the bill into law and “do everything they can to keep the centers open,” Shepherd said. The law will be open to interpretation, she said, and therefore, “no one really knows what will happen.”

“We do know that the legislature’s intent was to cut off $3 million in federal funding,” Shepherd said. That funding helps pay for family planning services and preventive health care such as Pap tests, birth control, breast exams and STD testing and treatment, she said.

vsade@jg.net