Planned Parenthood isn’t going down without a fight.
The abortion chain has rallies planned across the United States beginning Saturday to protest federal efforts to take away its taxpayer funding. Abortion activists plan to protest while federal lawmakers go on recess next week and head back to their home states, The Hill reports.
Initial reports said there are about 100 Planned Parenthood events planned for February, and LifeNews found a map on the abortion group’s events page that pinpoints fewer than 100 events, as of Friday afternoon.
However, The Hill report now says Planned Parenthood is reporting more than 300 events as part of its “Defenders” program throughout February, some outside state government buildings and others outside pro-life lawmakers’ offices.
Here’s more from the report:
Protesters have been flooding town halls in lawmakers’ home states, including those of Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Diane Black (R-Tenn.), particularly over the looming battle over ObamaCare and pushing back on repeal of former President Obama’s signature healthcare law.
But House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) pushed back against the protests addressing the fate of the law, saying they won’t change GOP plans to repeal and replace it.
Planned Parenthood has been a flashpoint in political campaigns and congressional politics.
Last week, pro-lifers held their own grassroots protests across the United States to call for the abortion giant to be defunded. The Feb. 11 “Defund Planned Parenthood” events took place in more than 218 cities across the nation, according to organizers.
One of the pro-life events was canceled as a result of violent threats from Planned Parenthood supporters, and others experienced hostility from abortion activists who counter-protested. Students for Life leaders said the “violence and hatred” that they witnessed from abortion activists was “frightening.”
SIGN THE PETITION! Congress Must De-Fund Planned Parenthood Immediately
Planned Parenthood does approximately 320,000 abortions every year, about one third of all the abortions in the U.S., according to its own annual reports. It also receives nearly half a billion tax dollars annually.
The new U.S. Congress is working to defund the abortion group. Legislators plan to redirect the tax dollars to federally-qualified community health clinics that offer more comprehensive care but don’t perform abortions.
Earlier this week, LifeNews reported the U.S. House also voted to overturn an Obama administration policy that forced states to fund Planned Parenthood. This move will make it easier for states to defund the abortion group, in addition to the federal government.
U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) filed bills to overturn the rule.
“State legislatures around the country have spoken out about their preference for prioritizing more comprehensive primary and preventative care providers for the receipt of Title X funding,” the duo wrote in a joint op-ed for the Washington Examiner, “and their voice should be respected by bureaucrats in the federal government.
“… Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the abortion industry in this country. Nor should they be forced to foot the bill for an organization like Planned Parenthood that has displayed such blatant disregard for human life.”
A congressional investigation into the abortion business involving its sales of aborted baby parts concluded recently with lawmakers recommending that Congress defund the abortion company.
Planned Parenthood also was exposed this year for not providing prenatal care, despite its claims otherwise, and only providing ultrasounds in preparation for abortions. It also has been caught in numerous scandals involving possible Medicaid fraud and failures to report suspected sex trafficking and sexual abuse of minors.
Recent polls also indicate Americans support the defunding efforts. One new poll found 56 percent of Americans in battleground states want Planned Parenthood defunded.
