Just two days after pro-life lawmakers in the House of Representative introduced a bill that would immediately de-fund Planned Parenthood, pro-life members of the U.S. Senate have followed suit with their own legislation.
In the wake of two shocking videos showing top Planned Parenthood doctors arranging the sale of body parts form aborted babies, more than 80 members of the House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would immediately de-fund Planned Parenthood. Representative Diane Black (R-TN) and 80 original cosponsors introduced H.R. 3134, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, which would immediately halt all sources of Federal funding to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates for a one year period.
Black, a Tennessee Republican and a nurse for more than 40 years, told LifeNews that the shocking video provides yet another reason to ensure the Planned Parenthood abortion company does not receive taxpayer dollars.
In the Senate, Senator James Lankford, an Oklahoma republican, agrees.
Lankford introduced a bill to end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood for a year while they are investigated for possible illegal practices.
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Specifically, the bill, Defund Planned Parenthood Act, would set a one-year moratorium on Planned Parenthood funding from the government, unless the organization ceases performing abortions, his office informed LifeNews.com. This would allow more federal dollars to go toward organizations like community health centers, which serve low-income populations and provide direct health care to women across the country without also killing unborn children in abortions.
“The recent videos uncovering Planned Parenthood’s inhumane abortion practices have hit a nerve with many Americans,” said Lankford. “While the government investigates Planned Parenthood to determine if their practice of adapting their abortion procedures to harvest the organs of children violates federal law, they should not continue to receive taxpayer money. Planned Parenthood receives more than $500 million in taxpayer money every year.”
“This is a sensitive topic for many and I am aware our nation is divided on the issue of abortion, but it is common sense that we shouldn’t force taxpayers to assist the harvesting of human organs,” he said. “Although abortion services account for about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s activities, serving about 10 percent of its clients, they perform over 300,000 abortions a year.”
Last Thursday, Lankford delivered a passionate speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate about Planned Parenthood. Lankford also wrote an op-ed calling for Congress to end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood and take up the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (S.1553) to ban abortions after five months.
Since 2013, Congressman Black has sponsored H.R. 217, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which would combat one of Planned Parenthood’s major government revenue streams by withholding Title X grants from any health care provider that performs abortions or gives funds to organizations that do. However, a nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) study released earlier this year found that Planned Parenthood also received $1.2 billion from Medicaid over a three year window – making it clear that legislation is needed to combat any possible source of federal funding for the scandal-ridden abortion mill.
House Republicans previously approved bills to de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business but the Senatehas not recently voted for the bill because Democrats have prevented its passage.
In 2011, House members voted 241-185 for a resolution that would prohibit the Planned Parenthood abortion business from qualifying for family planning funds. The vote saw almost all Republicans supporting de-funding while Democrats generally opposed it. That was the second vote taken to de-fund the abortion giant. An earlier vote in 2011 saw the House de-funded Planned Parenthood on a 240-185 margin.
Last year, Planned Parenthood Federation of America rleased its 2013-2014 Annual Report.The report indicates Planned Parenthood did 327,653 abortions in 2013, an increase over the 327,166 abortions it did in 2012.
While it remains America’s biggest abortion corporation, the “nonprofit” continued to make money — bringing in $305.4 million last year and $305.3 million this year. Planned Parenthood continued to receive over a half-billion dollars in taxpayer money, as it took in $540 million in 2012 and $528 million in 2013.
Black told LifeNews in a statement: While Planned Parenthood and its counterparts like to repeat the company line that federal dollars do not directly fund abortions, commonsense tells us differently. According to Planned Parenthood’s own annual report, the organization performed 327, 653 abortions in 2013 alone – all the while receiving more than $528 million in funding from Uncle Sam. The sad truth is they are not alone. Similar organizations continue to threaten the lives of the unborn while cashing in on our tax dollars. My legislation will stop this shameful practice in its tracks.”
Some other takeaways from Planned Parenthood’s own figures:
- In 2013, abortions made up 94% of Planned Parenthood’s pregnancy services.
- For every adoption referral, Planned Parenthood performed 174 abortions.
- While abortions rose, Planned Parenthood adoption referrals dropped 14% in one year, and prenatal care services dropped 4%.
- Planned Parenthood’s cancer prevention services are down 17% over one year, and contraceptive services dropped by 4%.
- During fiscal year 2013-2014, Planned Parenthood received more than $528 million in taxpayer funding, or more than $1.4 million per day, in the form of government grants, contracts, and Medicaid reimbursements.
- Taxpayer funding accounts for 41% of Planned Parenthood’s overall revenue.
- Planned Parenthood reported more than $127 million in excess revenue, and more than $1.4 billion in net assets.
