In protest of the governor’s support for a far-reaching anti-abortion bill, Kansas women have taken to GOP Gov. Sam Brownback’s Facebook page to criticize his position. The postings mocked Brownback’s seemingly excessive interest in his neighbors’ reproductive and sexual health lives by addressing him as a women’s health expert:

He’s vowed to sign into law the onerous “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” – a bill he freely admits that he has not read – that would permit doctors to withhold information from patients, force women to hear the fetal heartbeat prior to an abortion procedure, and contains the absolutely bananas provision that would require doctors to lie to women by telling them that abortions would increase the risk of breast cancer.

By Thursday, all of the comments from the “sarcasm bombing” had been scrubbed from Brownback’s Facebook wall, though RH Reality Check grabbed a couple of screenshots of the page:

Virginia Republicans faced similar backlash this week when residents of the state bombarded the Facebook pages of Republicans state Sen. Ryan McDougle — who sponsored the recently passed ultrasound bill — and Del. David Albo (R) with sarcastic posts “detailing anatomical happenings, asking questions and thanking Virginia Senate Republican caucus chairman Ryan McDougle for his concern of women’s health and rights.” Here’s a screenshot of the comments from DailyKos:

– Fatima Najiy

Federal health officials are launching a new graphic antismoking ad campaign in an effort to persuade more adults to quit smoking. The “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign, which was spearheaded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) along with the Obama administration, looks at “the harsh reality of illness and damage suffered as a result of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.” The $54 million campaign features anecdotes and tips from former smokers who are currently living and struggling with smoke-related illnesses and disabilities:

One print ad depicts a 50-year-old throat-cancer patient named Shawn, exposing his neck as he shaves. “Be careful not to cut your stoma,” the ad reads. A TV spot portrays a 51 year-old former smoker named Terrie from North Carolina, who shows how she gets ready in the morning: inserting dentures, donning a wig, then a cover for a stoma, a hole in the neck created as a result of a tracheotomy. “Smoking causes immediate damage to your body,” a voiceover reads, and then provides quit-ine information.

The ads are scheduled to appear on television, radio, online, in print media and on billboards and bus stops. Federal officials are projecting the ad campaign will help 50,000 people quit smoking.

According to the CDC, an estimated 45.3 million American adults smoke cigarettes. To date, smoking is the leading cause of preventable and premature death and disease in the United States, and according to the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for more than 443,000 deaths each year in America alone, costing a massive $193 billion in direct medical costs and subsequent lost productivity each year. Currently, over 8 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking.

“Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in this country, and hard-hitting ads are a very effective way to reduce tobacco use. [...] The evidence is very clear that they work,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden. Former New York City health commissioner, Frieden headed a similarly aggressive antismoking campaign that has been credited with aiding in the significant lowering of smoking rates in the city. The CDC-sponsored ads will run for 12 weeks starting Monday.

– Fatima Najiy

UPDATE (5/5/12): Gov. Jan Brewer signs the funding ban into law.

Arizona is the latest battleground in the conservative war on women as the state legislature appears poised to strip funding from the women’s health care provider Planned Parenthood.

Earlier this week, an Arizona Senate panel approved HB 2800 on a party-line vote. The Arizona Senate Committee on Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform’s move came on the heels of support from the Arizona House, which approved the legislation earlier this month.

If HB 2800 is indeed passed by the full Senate, Gov. Jan Brewer (R) is expected to sign the legislation into law, stripping state funding from any group such as Planned Parenthood that performs abortions.

Unfortunately, the move would have a pronounced impact on poorer Arizona women who rely on places like Planned Parenthood for many of their health care needs. As the following chart shows, abortion accounts for just 3 percent of the patient care provided by Planned Parenthood. The other 97 percent included mammograms, STI treatment, and other health services.

If passed, Arizona will join a growing list of Republican-led states to cut funding for Planned Parenthood. The largest was Texas, who last year stripped the women’s health provider of approximately $47 million in state funds. As a result, 12 clinics were forced to shut their doors, many in rural areas with few other health care providers. Other states, such as New Jersey and Wisconsin, have taken away funds as well.

Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona, who is running for Arizona’s open U.S. Senate seat, criticized the state legislature, calling the Senate panel’s approval was an “extremely misguided” decision. “As a longtime health care professional,” Carmona told ThinkProgress, “I can say without hesitation that restricting access to reproductive health care is detrimental to the health and safety of women. Period.”

Arizona state law already prohibits using tax dollars for abortions. The real effect of HB 2800 would be to take away necessary health care services to low-income Arizonans.

As ThinkProgress reported yesterday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) expressed callous indifference with a bill mandating that women receive an ultrasound before choosing to have abortion because they could just close their eyes. “I’m not making anybody watch, OK,” he explained. “Because you just have to close your eyes.”

Yesterday, a young woman confronted Corbett about his support for the bill. The governor reiterated his support for it by arguing that it’s not as bad as invasive transvaginal ultrasounds:

QUESTIONER: Excuse me, hi. Can you tell me why you supported the ultrasound bill?

CORBETT: It’s a position I took awhile ago. It’s just on the outside, it’s not invasive. That’s why.

The Pennsylvania Democrats posted the video:

While Corbett may back the bill because it does not include the words “transvaginal ultrasound,” the language of the bill still suggests that a woman could be required to undergo the invasive procedure if the embryo is too small.

The ultrasound bill is stalled after the Pennsylvania House delayed a vote earlier this week, and lawmakers are revoking their support because of tougher language inserted into the bill in committee. One Republican legislator said he was “offended” by the changes.

The Obama administration notified Texas yesterday that it was officially stopping funds to the Texas Women’s Health Program because of the state’s decision to block abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, from participating in the program. About half of the participating clinics were cut off by the new state rule that went into effect this week, affecting 130,000 women in the health program:

Twenty-nine states participate in the Medicaid’s Women Health Program, which extends Medicaid coverage for reproductive health services to lower-income women who do not qualify for the rest of the entitlement program’s benefits. [...]

“We very much regret the state’s decision to implement this rule, which will prevent women enrolled in the program from receiving services from the trusted health care providers they have chosen and relied on for their care,” Medicaid director Cindy Mann wrote in a Thursday letter to Texas officials.

While nine states have passed legislation to end abortion provider’s government funding, Texas is the first to lose federal dollars over it. Other states’ laws have only affected state spending, or have been held up by court challenges.

Federal law prevents states from banning specific providers from Medicaid programs, leading to the Women’s Health Program showdown. Mann said that while they try to give as much flexibility as possible, “on this case, federal law precludes us from doing so.”

Last year, the federal government gave $39 million for the program. The state pays $1 for every $9 Medicaid puts into the program, but Gov. Rick Perry (R) has insisted the state will fill the gap to keep the program going without including Planned Parenthood. Texas Democrats are seeking alternate federal funds to continue the program through a different route.

A poll earlier this month showed that a majority of Texans disagreed with the Republican push to cut off Women’s Health Program funds to clinics simply because they also provide abortions. Fifty-nine percent of voters opposed the new rule, while 38 percent agreed with it.