Congresswoman Introduces New Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood Abortion Business

By Steven Ertelt
Life News

A leading pro-life member of Congress introduced new legislation today to defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business. The nation’s biggest abortion company has received billions of taxpayer dollars over the years, but President Donald Trump and pro-life advocates have made it a priority to revoke its funding where possible.

Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a Republican who leads the House Vales Action Team, introduced the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2019 in the House today.It would revoke Planned Parenthood funding via Medicaid, while the Trump administration has been working to defund other Planned Parenthood funding streams.

National Right to Life Legislative Director Jennifer Popik, told LifeNews there is a partisan divide on whether the abortion giant should be funded.

“Most Democrats in Congress think Planned Parenthood can do no wrong. Congresswoman Hartzler knows better and we thank her for her leadership in working to defund America’s largest abortion provider.”

Popik said Planned Parenthood continues to downplay abortion’s significance to its bottom line, recycling the much-debunked statistic that abortion constitutes merely 3% of its services. As National Right to Life has analyzed previously, this is a statistical artifice that even Planned Parenthood’s media allies are reluctant to defend. 

The data show abortion still plays a huge role in Planned Parenthood’s mission and policies, not to mention its bottom line. Planned Parenthood now performs more than a third of all abortions in the United States and continuing to be its biggest defender in the legislature and the courts.

In fact, according to their own annual report, Planned Parenthood and its affiliates last year received $543.7 million, or 37%, of its total in revenues funding from federal, state and local grants and payments. 

Under the newly introduced legislation, all funds that are no longer available to abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, are explicitly made available to other eligible entities to provide women’s health care services.

The abortion corporation remains funded despite the partial government shutdown. The House has approved bills to defund Planned Parenthood only to see Senate Democrats kill them.

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Justice Kavanaugh Gets His First Test on Abortion: Can States Defund Planned Parenthood?

By Rachel N. Busick, J.D.
Life News

When Supreme Court Justices meet in conference Friday, Oct. 12, two states, Kansas and Louisiana, will eagerly be waiting to see whether the court will hear two abortion-related cases.

The cases were originally scheduled for the justices’ first conference of the term at the end of September, but have been rescheduled twice so far, presumably to wait for a ninth justice. With the addition of Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Monday, the Court may now have the fourth vote needed to take them up.

The cases are Andersen v. Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri and Gee v. Planned Parenthood of Gulf Coast. They both ask the same question: Does the Medicaid Act allow individual patients to sue their state in federal court to ensure that they can receive Medicaid benefits from their preferred provider of choice, in these cases, Planned Parenthood? The answer to that question will determine whether states are forced to fund abortion providers under their state Medicaid programs.

These cases represent the first chance Kavanaugh will have to weigh in on an issue affecting abortion. How the Supreme Court handles these cases with a 5-4 conservative majority will be a key indicator of how the new Court will engage on issues relating to abortion, including perhaps even whether the court might be open to revisiting Roe v. Wade in the future.

It is well-established that states, as well as the federal government, are not required to fund elective abortions. But it is far from settled whether states must fund abortion providers for other services that they provide.

Over the last several years, Planned Parenthood has come under increased public scrutiny and criticism for its dubious business practices. Undercover videos appeared to show Planned Parenthood officials haggling over the body parts of aborted fetuses, and there have been multiple reports alleging massive fraud, waste, and abuse and unsafe practices of Planned Parenthood affiliates. As a result, the defunding of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers became a priority for many states.

The federal government has also gotten in on the act. For example, earlier this year the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule that to receive Title X family planning funds there must be clear financial and physical separation between a Title X funded project and abortion services. And just last week, the full 6th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on whether Ohio can defund abortion providers under six of its federally funded health programs.

Perhaps most notably, there has been a wave of states seeking to defund abortion providers under their state Medicaid programs. HHS is currently reviewing proposals from Texas, Tennessee, and South Carolina, while the defunding decisions by other states — including Kansas and Louisiana — have been challenged in federal court by Planned Parenthood and some of its patients. Federal appeals courts have split on the issue.

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Senate Fails to Pass Amendment to Defund Planned Parenthood

Rand Paul Blasts Obstructionists

By Calvin Freiburger
Life Site News

The U.S. Senate voted 45-48 Thursday on Sen. Rand Paul’s latest amendment to defund Planned Parenthood, coming up short of the 60 needed to overcome current filibuster rules and pass.

The Kentucky Republican introduced an amendment last week to the Senate appropriations package funding the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; which would forbid money appropriated for those departments from directly or indirectly going to any entity that performs or finances most abortions.

Despite the GOP holding its congressional majorities and winning the White House in 2016 by (among other issues) promising to defund the abortion giant, legislation to do so has stalled thus far and budgets have continued to subsidize Planned Parenthood. Yet GOP leaders such as Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Richard Shelby complained that Paul’s amendment was a “spoiler” that could prevent the broader funding bill from passing.

Before Paul was able to add his proposal to the “amendment tree’s” limited slots, Senate GOP leaders filled the last slot with a placeholder amendment that added a single dollar to one program’s funding, the Washington Examiner reports. “Its only purpose was to block Paul,” an unnamed Senate insider told the Examiner.

Paul excoriated his party's leadership on the Senate floor over the move, accusing them of "just giv[ing] lip service to pro-life issues” and being “more concerned” with “bloated government spending than saving lives.” His protest was successful in getting the vote and putting senators on the record, though the amendment ultimately failed to pass.

Senator Rand Paul

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Big-spending Republicans fear that blocking funding for Planned Parenthood would derail their plans to greatly expand the welfare-warfare state.

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While the House of Representatives has passed several pro-life bills, only the one letting states defund Planned Parenthood ever became law. The 20-week abortion ban and Obamacare repeal/Planned Parenthood defunding ultimately died in the Senate, where pro-abortion GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have the power to block simple-majority votes, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is unwilling to revise the legislative filibuster.

President Donald Trump, who has pursued a robust pro-life agenda, says electing more Republican senators this fall is the key to passing pro-life legislation.

Website: Life Site News

Possible Speaker Candidate Jim Jordan Wants to Defund Planned Parenthood

By Jim Jordan
Life News

A strong advocate against the abortion giant Planned Parenthood, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan’s name is being floated as a possible candidate for speaker of the House.

House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that he will not seek re-election earlier this week. Since then, the media has been chattering about who will replace him.

Jordan, an Ohio Republican, is one possibility. He has been a passionate advocate for unborn babies, as well as efforts to defund the abortion giant Planned Parenthood, which performs about 320,000 abortions and reaps in about $500 million tax dollars annually.

According to Conservative Review, Jordan recently joined 24 other Republicans in voting against the omnibus spending bill, in part, because it included taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood. The House had previously approved a bill to defund Planned Parenthood but the Senate was not able to muster enough votes to approve it as all Democrats opposed it along , with a handful of Republicans. Thus, there was no ability to defund Planned Parenthood in the omnibus.

Here’s more from the report:

In March, the Republican majority in Congress passed a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill. Jordan was one of just 25 House Republicans to vote against a procedural rule advancing the bill toward final passage and taking away the right of members to offer amendments to improve the bill or cut spending. …

“No wonder Americans hate this place. No wonder they’re cynical,” Jordan said. “This ticks me off. There’s just no other way to say it, and more importantly, it ticks off the American people, and it should.”

Jordan asked if Republicans would get back to doing what they told voters they would do. “Or are we going to keep doing pretend things like this?”

Back in 2015, Jordan also was one of the lawmakers who questioned Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards about selling aborted baby parts. The U.S. Congressional hearing was held soon after the Center for Medical Progress released its first several videos exposing the abortion chain’s baby body parts trade.

“If the videos were selectively edited, if this was entrapment, all untrue, then why did you apologize?” Jordan asked, referring to Richards’ statements after the first video was released.

Richards refused to give a direct answer.

Life News article continues here

Tennessee Legislature Passes Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood Abortion Chain

By Steven Ertelt and Micaiah Bilger
Life News

The Tennessee legislature has given final approval to a bill that would defund the Planned Parenthood abortion chain. The measure comes after the abortion business was exposed selling the body parts of aborted babies across the country.

The measure codifies existing policy established in 2011 by the Haslam administration which prioritizes health departments to receive Title X family planning funds rather than Planned Parenthood abortion facilities in the state.

The House overwhelmingly passed the legislation on Thursday by a lopsided vote of 74-15-1. The Senate passed the legislation on March 5 by a vote of 25-1-1.

According to Tennessee Right to Life, prior to 2009, Planned Parenthood facilities received preferential treatment in the awarding of more than $1 million tax dollars annually. 

For decades the funds were automatically directed to Planned Parenthood without any bidding process or request for proposals from other entities. If signed by the Governor, SB 2494 /HB 2262 will permanently establish that first priority for distribution of the funds will be given to public health departments, the policy of the Haslam Administration since 2011.

“Tennessee Right to Life is grateful to pro-life members of the General Assembly who are committed to protecting women, girls and unborn children by defunding the nation’s leading abortion provider, Planned Parenthood,” said Brian Harris, president of the Tennessee Right to Life organization. “Voters will reward these legislators in November for their support of Right to Life priorities.”

Prime sponsors of the measure were Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) and Representative Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville.)

“This pro-life bill was passed overwhelmingly in large part due to the vigilant care with which sponsors Johnson and Dunn shepherded the measure. Tennessee Right to Life expresses our appreciation for their work and wisdom,” said Lorene Steffes, board member of the organization. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature to restore full protection to the vulnerable unborn in our state,” said Steffes.

Tennessee Right to Life explained the need for the legislation in an email to supporters.

Life News article continues here

Texas Will Defund Planned Parenthood, Cancels $3.1 Million in Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Biz

By Micaiah Bilger
Life News

Texas officials gave final notice to Planned Parenthood on Tuesday that its taxpayer funding is going away.
The abortion chain in Texas currently receives $3.1 million in Medicaid funds. The final notice from the Texas Health and Human Services on Tuesday told the abortion group that it will be kicked out of the taxpayer-funded program in 30 days, the Texas Tribune reports.

State officials said Planned Parenthood’s potentially illegal sales of aborted babies’ body parts was a key reason for the move.

In the final notice letter, department Inspector General Stuart Bowen said the undercover videos that exposed Planned Parenthood’s actions showed that “Planned Parenthood violated state and federal law.” He said the abortion group showed a “willingness to charge more than the costs incurred for procuring fetal tissue.”

“Your misconduct is directly related to whether you are qualified to provide medical services in a professionally competent, safe, legal and ethical manner,” Bowen wrote in the letter. “Your actions violate generally accepted medical standards, as reflected in state and federal law, and are Medicaid program violations that justify termination.”

Several weeks ago, a U.S. Congressional investigation released evidence that Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast in Texas “broke the law when it sold aborted baby remains for profit to the University of Texas.” The U.S. House panel referred the case to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for further review.

Life News article continues

New Trump HHS Secretary Tom Price: Defund Planned Parenthood, Selling Aborted Babies is “Barbaric”

By Steven Ertelt
Life News

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for HHS secretary, pro-life Congressman Tom Price, strongly supports defunding the Planned Parenthood abortion business.

America’s leading abortion company was exposed selling the body parts of aborted babies for profit, Congressman Price called the practice “barbaric” and said the abortion business ought to be defended.

Price, who is a physician, voted for Congressional legislation to defund the Planned Parenthood abortion company that pro-abortion President Barack Obama eventually vetoed. In a statement in association with that vote, price said the following:

“Anyone who has not viewed the disturbing videos recently released should do so. It is only with that knowledge that one can know, in horrific detail, the barbaric practices being committed with federal taxpayer dollars. These actions cross a moral line beyond comprehension.”

 “The revealing picture is of a supported routine for abortion practices that result in the harvesting and sale of baby parts, some of which are secured in barbaric process. This, if seen, will shake anyone’s conscience. Today, I voted to end taxpayer funding for the organization responsible and add criminal penalties in the event of born alive abortions.”

“This effort is not about party ideology; it is about common, human decency and who we are as a people. I applaud the House for the steps taken today and encourage Congress to take further action in the days to come.”

Price has a long pro-life voting record as a member of Congress and has voted pro life 100% of the time according to the National Right to Life Committee.

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Planned Parenthood Protests Gov. Jindal

On August 20th, Planned Parenthood held a protest outside the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion because of Governor Jindal’s decision to cancel Louisiana’s Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood. Governor Jindal played the Planned Parenthood videos on his front lawn so protestors could see why he made the decision he did.

Watch the video below to see how these protesters responded to these videos.