Thursday, May 4, 2017

Activists Slam Pro-Life Majority Congress Over Spending Deal Funding Planned Parenthood


By Samuel Smith
Christian Post


Pro-life leaders are "disappointed" that the Republican-led Congress is advancing a bipartisan spending bill that would allow Medicaid funds to continue to go to the nation's largest abortion provider.

It has been reported that in order to avoid a potential government shutdown, negotiators in Congress reached a deal on Sunday to advance a $1 trillion spending deal that would keep the federal government funded through the end of September.

However, the deal is being considered somewhat of a victory for Democrats who vowed not to vote for a spending bill if it cuts funding for Planned Parenthood, which is a goal that conservatives have been eager to attain since gaining control of both houses of Congress and electing Donald Trump as the 45th president in November.

Although Democrats involved in the negotiations have reportedly conceded $12.5 billion in additional military spending and $1.5 billion in additional spending for border security, they were reportedly successful in blocking the GOP's request to prohibit funds from going to Planned Parenthood, which conducts over 300,000 abortions every year.

As Planned Parenthood receives over $500 million in federal funding per year, it receives most of its federal funding through Medicaid reimbursements for services its clinics provide.

The spending deal is not official yet, as both the House and Senate are expected to vote on it sometime this week.

"With pro-life Republican majorities in both houses, it is incredibly disappointing that any Republican spending bill would contain continued funding for Planned Parenthood," Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Washington-based pro-life lobbying organization Susan B. Anthony List who chaired the Trump campaign's pro-life coalition, said in a statement Monday.

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