White House: Defunding Planned Parenthood Would Be Bad for the Economy

The White House criticized the Republican effort to defund Planned Parenthood as bad for the economy, pointing to the potential shutdown of the abortion corporation’s clinics.

“It certainly isn’t in the best interest of our economy, it’s not in the best interests of protecting access the health care for the American people,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, adding that the motivation for Republicans to defund the corporation was “beyond me.”

Earnest asserted that Obama would veto an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, even if those funds were redirected to other health centers.

“There are Planned Parenthood facilities whose very existence would be threatened by the stripping of this funding,” he said, insisting that there was no “legitimate explanation” for Congress to do so.

He dismissed the Republican effort to defund Planned Parenthood as a way to benefit the “short term political interests” of the party.

During fiscal year 2013-2014, Planned Parenthood received more than $528 million in taxpayer funding, accounting for 41 percent of Planned Parenthood’s overall revenue, according to the pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony List.

Earnest also indicated that any “wholesale defunding” of the organization would be vetoed by the president.