The House passed a bill Friday, 241-186, that would place an immediate freeze on all Planned Parenthood federal funding for one year, while Congress investigates the abortion giant following revelations that it harvests the body parts of aborted babies to sell on the open market.
The measure, titled the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, would also allow funds that would ordinarily be provided to Planned Parenthood to be redirected to the more than 13,500 clinics nationwide that do not provide abortions but do provide primary care to low-income and underserved populations. An amendment to the bill actually increases funding to community health centers by $235 million during this one-year period.
Rep. Diane Black, the author of the legislation, is urging the Senate to vote on the bill as well. On Thursday she said, “I will be personally calling every Senator I know so that we can get this measure to the President’s desk.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said this Congress will not defund Planned Parenthood because President Obama would veto such legislation.
During her floor speech prior to the vote, Black chastised Democrats in the House for dismissing the videos that expose Planned Parenthood’s organ harvesting practices without ever viewing them.
“I get it, It’s easier to try and discredit the source than to defend what’s happening on these tapes,” she said. “Well, Madam Speaker, I did watch these videos and I saw full conversations of Planned Parenthood employees, in their own words, discussing potentially lawbreaking activities.”
Conservative lawmakers in the House, however, believe the measure does not really defund Planned Parenthood and also places trust in the word of an abortion business with a bad track record. As Black herself stated about her bill, “What’s more, Planned Parenthood can get the money back if they fully commit to women’s healthcare and stop performing abortions.”
House conservatives are demanding a bill to defund Planned Parenthood that is attached to a must-pass piece of legislation instead of a “show vote.”
As Breitbart News reported, Rep. Steve King said in a press statement, “H.R. 3134 simply restates current law – the Hyde Amendment. This bill does not defund Planned Parenthood – it reauthorizes Planned Parenthood to perform abortions with federal funds in the cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother. It does not take away any of their other streams of funding from the federal government or reduce federal funding to Planned Parenthood by even one dollar.”
King has offered an amendment that states, “No funds authorized or appropriated by Federal law may be made available for any purpose to Planned Parenthood…any affiliate or clinic of Planned Parenthood…any successor.”
“I expect much stronger language…in the CR coming up in the next few weeks,” King said. “Innocent, unborn babies deserve more than just a show vote.”
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