Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has announced she will not stick with most of the rest of the Republican caucus in the Senate on any vote to revoke taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
Despite recent videos showing staff at Planned Parenthood assisting alleged sex traffickers in getting abortions and STD testing for the girls they victimize, Murkowski said over the weekend, “I believe Planned Parenthood provides vital services to those in need and disagree with their funding cuts in the bill.”
“From 2002-2008, Planned Parenthood received $342 million in federal taxpayer money through Title X funding alone. With these funds, Planned Parenthood has provided women throughout the U.S. with important family planning and contraceptive services as well as screening for breast and cervical cancers for low-income women,” she added, ignoring its massive abortion business which brings in one-third of its annual budget.
According to Politico, Murkowski wrote a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, a pro-abortion Democrat, and Vice Chairman Thad Cochran, a pro-life Republican, saying, “I ask you to consider these programs going forward to determine if there is room for allowing continued funding.”
Murkowki’s letter is not a surprise for pro-life advocates, who opposed her in her bid for re-election last year because of her mixed voting record on pro-life issues and support for legalized abortion. The letter puts her in league with Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a pro-abortion lawmaker who also said she would not support any vote to remove taxpayer funding of the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
“Sen. Collins is a longtime supporter of the Title X family planning program, and she believes the House’s decision to completely eliminate the funding is unwise,” Collins spokesman Kevin Kelley said, according to Politico. “The program has successfully reduced the number of unplanned pregnancies, therefore helping to reduce health care costs.”
Murkowski’s stance came under quick criticism from pro-life advocates, including Family Research Council Vice President Tom McClusky.
“Senator Lisa Murkowski has once again distinguished herself from her party’s principles by being the first Republican Senator to defend abortion giant Planned Parenthood,” he said. “She went on to stand up for the questionable organization and misinform at least one of her constituents in an e-mail.”
“Sen Murkowski cites breast screening defending Planned Parenthood, in truth they admit they don’t do mammograms,” McClusky added. “Sen Murkowski defends Planned Parenthood even though they fight against laws to protect child sex abuse victims. Murkowski stands with Planned Parenthood even though they fight against statutory rape reporting laws. Murkowski wants Planned Parenthood to keep on getting your money even though they are a billion dollar company.”
ACTION: Contact Murkowski at (202) 224-6665 or go to https://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Contact
