House OKs GOP bill blocking Planned Parenthood funds

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

A divided House voted Friday to block Planned Parenthood’s federal funds for a year, as Republican leaders tried to keep GOP outrage over abortion from spiraling into an impasse with President Barack Obama that could shut down the government.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who voted against defunding Planned Parenthood, said, “I am extremely disappointed that congressional Republicans have yet again prioritized politics over governing. [Friday’s] actions to defund Planned Parenthood are a slap in the face and a harmful assault on the 2.7 million women and men across the country and 56,939 in Ohio who rely on these centers for women’s heath exams, lifesaving cancer screenings, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, birth control and advice on family planning.”

Ryan, of Howland, D-13th, added: “Ohio state’s infant mortality rate is 23 percent higher than the national average with 6 infant deaths per 1,000 births among white families, and 13.8 deaths per 1,000 births among black families. These statistics are tragic, and there is no question that we need to do more for the reproductive health of our state.”

The House voted 241-187 for the legislation, with just three Republicans and two Democrats defecting from their party lines.

The measure stands little chance of enactment, since Senate Democrats have enough votes to block it, and for good measure the White House has promised a veto.

Yet Republicans are forging ahead, sparked by secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing how they take tissue from aborted fetuses for medical research.

Those videos have helped mushroom the longtime political fight over abortion into a prominent issue for next year’s elections.

They’ve also refueled Congress’ always-emotional clashes on the subject, with the debate featuring a poster-sized photo of a scarred, aborted fetus and accusations from each side the other was simply trying to drum up campaign donations.

“In the face of these videos, with all the alternatives women have for health, why would you want to force your constituents to pay for something so evil?” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

The bill by Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., would shift Planned Parenthood’s federal payments to the thousands of government-backed community health centers, which Republicans said would treat the group’s displaced patients.

Most of the organization’s $450 million yearly in federal money – a third of its overall budget – comes from Medicaid reimbursements for treating low-income clients, and virtually none of it can be used for abortions.

Democrats said the true GOP goal was to whip up conservative voters with bills that would result in diminished health care for women.

“Some of their members are willing to risk women’s lives just to score political points,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. “Enough is enough.”

Abortion opponents say the tapes show Planned Parenthood illegally profited from tissue sales for research. Planned Parenthood says it’s acted legally and says the tapes were deceptively edited.

The GOP assault on Planned Parenthood was being waged on several fronts.

By 248-177, the House also approved a bill by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., imposing penalties of up to five years in prison plus fines on doctors who don’t try to save infants born alive during abortions. It, too, faces likely Senate defeat and an Obama veto threat.

The Senate was ready to vote Tuesday on a measure banning most late-term abortions that Democrats were poised to scuttle. Committees from both chambers were investigating Planned Parenthood.