Redirecting Title X Family Planning Funding away from abortion providers passes U.S. Congress!
The plan to defund Planned Parenthood seemed to have gone down with the American Health Care Act defeat last week, but gratefully, many lawmakers are undeterred.
Before leaving office, the Obama Administration finalized a rule prohibiting states from defunding Planned Parenthood from the federal Title X family planning program.
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate followed the U.S. House in sending President Trump legislation to allow states to allocate these funds in a way that keeps abortion funding and family planning services separate. Vice-President Mike Pence had to break a tie vote to get the measure through the Senate.
Hopefully, in Arizona, this victory means the Ducey Administration should be able to direct the Title X funds to health care clinics that do not provide abortions. President Trump is expected to sign the measure.
Both Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake voted in favor of defunding Planned Parenthood. Last month, the Congressmen and Congresswoman below also voted in favor of the measure. Please thank them for their commitment to life.
Contact Sen. Jeff Flake here
Contact Sen. John McCain here
Contact U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs here
Contact U.S. Rep. Trent Franks here
Contact U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar here
Contact U.S. Rep. Martha McSally here
Contact U.S. Rep. David Schweikert here
Congress can and must do more!
Even with this first step, Planned Parenthood will continue to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding. I agree 100% with efforts to use the budget reconciliation process to redirect these funds away from abortion providers and to community health centers.
In Arizona, nearly 200 community health centers spread throughout our state are available to provide the needed health care services. Nationally, these centers outnumber Planned Parenthood clinics by at least 20 to 1. Clearly, women will be far better served by their local community health center.
Thankfully, U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan this week stated “reconciliation is the way to go” to redirect these funds away from Planned Parenthood.
The Susan B. Anthony List is leading the charge on this effort, asking Congress to act now. Take action here.
This is why…
A new undercover video released Wednesday by The Center for Medical Progress should be enough to convince anyone of the need to cut off taxpayer money to abortion providers. In the video, Arizona abortionist DeShawn Taylor admits to dismembering babies in the womb as she says with a chuckle, “It’s not a matter of how I feel about it coming out intact, but I have to worry about my staff and people’s feelings about it coming out looking like a baby.”
Dr. Taylor, formerly of Planned Parenthood and now with Desert Star Family Planning in Phoenix, went on to discuss potential trafficking of aborted baby body parts and how she could alter her method to accommodate a tissue buyer.
You can watch the video here. A warning though, it is difficult to listen to the cavalier attitude with which she discusses aborting babies.
Punishing the messenger
Ironically, law enforcement is coming after the makers of the video instead of those caught on tape. David Daleiden and his coworker produced a series of videos in 2015 showing Planned Parenthood executives haggling over the price of aborted baby body parts.
Hours before they released this latest video yesterday, prosecutors in California charged Daleiden and his coworker with 15 felonies related to the first set of videos released in 2015. Similar charges were dropped in Houston, Texas, and Daleiden expects these charges will be too.
It sure seems like political persecution to me.
Read Daleiden’s response to the charges here.
ICYMI: Life bill awaits Governor’s signature
The Arizona House passed SB 1367 yesterday and the Senate granted final passage. If Governor Ducey signs the bill, babies born alive during attempted abortions will have a greater chance at life. Watch for our Breaking News email as soon as we know the action taken by the Governor. To receive our Breaking News emails, click here!
The bill strengthens current law requiring doctors to do everything they can to save the life of a baby in those circumstances.
Read my response here. More information on the bill can be found here and here.