In light of a trio of undercover videos recently released depicting Planned Parenthood officials discussing the harvesting of fetal body parts, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he would fast-track a bill that would strip the organization of its federal funding, promising to hold a vote “next week.”
“This legislation would ensure taxpayer dollars for women’s health are actually spent on women’s health—not a scandal-plagued political lobbying giant,” McConnell said.
“The horrendous videos of senior executives from Planned Parenthood discussing in callous tones and shocking detail their role in a national scandal requires a congressional response.”
McConnell, along with eight of his Republican colleagues, gathered on Capitol Hill today to promote the legislation, which was introduced on Tuesday by Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; James Lankford, R-Okla.; and Rand Paul, R-Ky.
The group of GOP senators said they have the support of the conference and stressed that they are calling not simply to defund Planned Parenthood, but also to redirect its funding to other women’s health care providers.
“What we would like to see is those dollars directed to hospitals, community health centers,” Ernst said.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he has “every confidence” those institutions will be able to absorb an influx of patients with the help of increased funding.
Lankford, a co-sponsor of the bill, said it is “incredibly important” that Congress continue to provide funding for women’s health, “but we don’t continue to provide funding for an organization that makes part of their money off the death of that child, and then part of the money off the sale of the parts of that child to different research facilities.”
When asked if it is premature to defund the organization before completing investigations, Lankford said “no.”
“This is not a prejudgment,” he said. “This is a statement by Congress that this is what we choose to do.”
According to its 2013-2014 annual report, Planned Parenthood received more than $500 million in government funding last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment