Should Republicans in Congress attempt to shut down the federal government with the hopes of de-funding the Planned Parenthood abortion business? As Congress returns this week from its August recess, that question has sparked an intense internal debate between Republican members of Congress and within pro-life circles.
While some pro-life advocates suggest a shutdown is necessary to de-fund Planned Parenthood, since Senate Democrats are filibustering legitimation to accomplish that, others say shutting down the government won’t even result in de-funding Planned Parenthood — and point to two research reports indicating the abortion giant will retain most all of its funding during a government shutdown.
SIGN THE PETITION! Congress Must De-Fund Planned Parenthood Immediately
According to a report in The Hill, some conservative republicans are pressing forward with their demand that no governmental funding bill be passed unless it de-funds Planned Parenthood — even if it will only be vetoed by President Barack Obama and shut down the federal government.
But the pro-life congresswoman who is sponsoring the bill to de-fund Planned Parenthood says that is a futile pursuit rife with potential problems. She maintains that there is another solution to de-funding Planned Parenthood that doesn’t involve shutting down the federal government:
Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, spearheaded a letter to House GOP leaders shortly before lawmakers’ August recess that stated he and 17 other Republicans would not vote for any spending bill that continues funding for Planned Parenthood.
But with Congress set to return to Washington this week, it remains to be seen whether Mulvaney and his allies can gather enough support to force the hand of leadership.
Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), who has written legislation that would freeze Planned Parenthood funding for one year while Congress conducts an investigation into its fetal tissue program, says she doesn’t support using the government funding bill as the only leverage in the fight. Another option, for instance, could be attaching a measure to defund the organization to a reconciliation bill to repeal ObamaCare that would only need 51 votes in the Senate.
Black said she has secured a “commitment” from House GOP leadership that her bill will get a floor vote in the coming weeks, according to her spokesman.
“I wholeheartedly agree with the spirit and intent of my friend, Congressman Mulvaney’s letter,” Black said in a statement provided to The Hill. “The sad truth, however, is that President Obama is likely to veto any measure that combats funding of his political allies at Planned Parenthood.”
“I believe we must consider how to most effectively wage this battle while acknowledging our current political realities, positioning our movement for long-term success, and avoiding a government shutdown — which would not defund Planned Parenthood and would only embolden our radically pro-abortion president,” she added.
In the Senate, pro-life presidential candidate and Texas senator Ted Cruz is pushing the same idea of passing no bills to fund the federal government unless they de-fund Planned Parenthood.
Cruz, for his part, plans to send a letter to McConnell urging him not to schedule a vote on legislation that continues to fund Planned Parenthood.
“In light of recent and horrific revelations that Planned Parenthood is trafficking in fetal tissue and body parts from abortions, we urge you not to schedule or facilitate the consideration of any legislation that authorizes or appropriates federal dollars for Planned Parenthood,” a draft of Cruz’s letter reads.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConell says the Senate will vote a second time to attempt to de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business. That declaration comes after reports that the House of Representatives is planning a vote on legislation in a couple weeks that would de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business. The two votes would follow one the Senate had weeks ago, which saw Senate Democrats filibuster and block legislation to revoke $550 million in taxpayer funding.
This week, a House committee will hold its first hearing investigating Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted babies and their body parts. This is the first hearing in Congress’ multi-committee investigation of the abortion business after a series of nine videos exposed how it is potentially illegally selling aborted babies and profiting from the sales.
On Wednesday, September 9, 2015, at 10:30 a.m., the House Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing in a series of hearings titled, “Planned Parenthood Exposed: Examining the Horrific Abortion Practices at the Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider.” The hearings will examine the abortion practices of Planned Parenthood, which has been the subject of an ongoing House Judiciary Committee investigation into the organization’s practices.
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Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is planning a vote on legislation in a couple weeks that would de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business. The two votes would follow one the Senate had weeks ago, which saw Senate Democrats filibuster and block legislation to revoke $550 million in taxpayer funding. The Senate is expected to vote soon on a second attempt to de-fund Planned Parenthood.
The Center for Medical Progress recently released its most recent video — the 9th in its series of videos catching the Planned Parenthood abortion business selling aborted babies and their body parts. This latest video catches a Planned Parenthood medical director discussing how the abortion company sells fully intact aborted babies — including one who “just fell out” of the womb.
The Center for Medical Progress also released the full, uncut video of the conversation between undercover investigators form CMP and top officials with StemExpress, which buys aborted babies and their body parts from Planned Parenthood. The full footage is of a shorter video that summarized the meetings earlier this week.
In Congress, two committees in the House of Representatives have already launched investigations of Planned Parenthood. One committee is looking into whether or not the abortion business is breaking federal law by altering abortion procedures to better obtain aborted baby body parts for sale. Another committee, among other things, is investigating the Obama administration and whether there is any connection between it and the abortion giant.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wants to know if the Obama administration, via the Department of Health and Human Services, provided any federal grants to Planned Parenthood that ultimately went to pay for the sales of aborted baby body parts and if they were used by Planned Parenthood to “support transactions involving fetal tissue.”
The expose’ videos catching Planned Parenthood officials selling the body parts of aborted babies have shocked the nation. Here is a list of all nine:
- In the first video: Dr. Deborah Nucatola of Planned Parenthood commented on baby-crushing: “We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I’m not gonna crush that part, I’m gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.”
- In the second video: Planned Parenthood’s Dr. Mary Gatter joked, “I want a Lamborghini” as she negotiated the best price for baby parts.
- In the third video: Holly O’Donnell, a former Stem Express employee who worked inside a Planned Parenthood clinic, detailed first-hand the unspeakable atrocities and how she fainted in horror over handling baby legs.
- In the fourth video: Planned Parenthood’s Dr. Savita Ginde stated, “We don’t want to do just a flat-fee (per baby) of like, $200. A per-item thing works a little better, just because we can see how much we can get out of it.” She also laughed while looking at a plate of fetal kidneys that were “good to go.”
- In the fifth video: Melissa Farrell of Planned Parenthood-Gulf Coast in Houston boasted of Planned Parenthood’s skill in obtaining “intact fetal cadavers” and how her “research” department “contributes so much to the bottom line of our organization here, you know we’re one of the largest affiliates, our Research Department is the largest in the United States.”
- In the sixth video: Holly O’Donnell described technicians taking fetal parts without patient consent: “There were times when they would just take what they wanted. And these mothers don’t know. And there’s no way they would know.”
- In the seventh and perhaps most disturbing video: Holly O’Donnell described the harvesting, or “procurement,” of organs from a nearly intact late-term fetus aborted at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte’s Alameda clinic in San Jose, CA. “‘You want to see something kind of cool,’” O’Donnell says her supervisor asked her. “And she just taps the heart, and it starts beating. And I’m sitting here and I’m looking at this fetus, and its heart is beating, and I don’t know what to think.”
- In the eighth video: StemExpress CEO Cate Dyer admits Planned Parenthood sells “a lot of” fully intact aborted babies.
- The ninth video: catches a Planned Parenthood medical director discussing how the abortion company sells fully intact aborted babies — including one who “just fell out” of the womb.
SIGN THE PETITION! Congress Must Investigate Planned Parenthood for Selling Aborted Baby Parts
So far, 12 states have responded to the Planned Parenthood videos and launched investigations into their abortion and organ harvesting business including South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Kansas, Missouri, Arizona, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, Texas and Louisiana. The district attorney in Houston Texas is also investigating after the Houston-based Planned Parenthood abortion facility was caught selling aborted babies.
Congress has expanded its investigation into the Planned Parenthood abortion business and five states have revoked taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood’s abortion business, including Utah, Arkansas, Alabama, New Hampshire and Louisiana and Iowa’s governor has ordered a review of Planned Parenthood funding.
The full, unedited videos have confirmed that revelations that some aborted baby remains sold by Planned Parenthood go to biotech companies for the purpose of creating “humanized” mice. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has been exposed as having sold body parts from aborted babies for as much as 15 years.
The federal law that technically prohibits the sale of aborted babies and their body parts was written by a pro-abortion Congressman decades ago and essentially spells out a process by which sellers of aborted baby body parts can meet certain criteria that allows the sales to be legal. That’s why a Colorado congressman has introduced legislation to totally ban the sales of aborted baby body parts.
