GOP presidential-nomination hopeful Ron Paul wants to balance the budget, and he said cutting Planned Parenthood funding is one way to do that.

The Texas Republican released a statement on Monday outlining his plan to cut the federal deficit. Part of that plan is vetoing any bill that contributes funding to Planned Parenthood or other family planning programs if he’s elected president in 2012.

“Like millions of Americans, I believe that innocent life deserves protection, and I am deeply offended by abortion,” Paul said in a statement Monday. “It is unconscionable to me that fellow pro-life Americans are forced to fund abortion through their tax dollars.”

The Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, which covers both Iowa and Nebraska, services 65,000 men, women, and families a year, said President and CEO Jill June.

June said Paul’s “ideological agenda” would eliminate basic preventative care for men and women including breast exams, cancer screenings, well-woman exams, family planning, STI testing, and treatment and education.

“This is a political attack on Planned Parenthood but also an attack on the women and men who rely on us for quality health care,” June wrote in an e-mail. “… For some, Planned Parenthood nurses and doctors are the only providers they see. We are adamantly against taking away health care from the people who need it the most.”

June said just 6 percent of the Heartland chapter’s budget comes from state government grants, which totals about $1.4 million annually, and abortion is less than 3 percent of the services Planned Parenthood provides. June also said federal rules prohibit any tax dollars from being used to fund abortions.

Paul’s other budget-balancing plans include ceasing Obamacare and repealing “unconstitutional and burdensome” regulations on American businesses.

Mary Gansen, the president of the anti-abortion Four Seasons for Life, said she agreed with Paul’s statements.

“I agree with what he said 100 percent I’m glad that he is working to cut the budget,” said Gansen, and she believes Paul would make an excellent president because he “walks the talk.”

“He has a good track record, is a following Christian, and is even a doctor, so he knows what he is talking about when it comes to this subject,” she said.

June iterated Planned Parenthood’s role of providing health care to those whom may otherwise not have it.

“It’s difficult to understand why people who are opposed to abortion want to undermine family planning and contraception that helps prevent the need for abortion,” she said. “Planned Parenthood does more than any other organization to encourage the use of contraception for women wanting to avoid pregnancy.”