Paul to announce vote on defunding Planned Parenthood

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky will announce a Senate deal to vote on legislation to defund Planned Parenthood before the August recess at an anti-abortion rally on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Paul will say the vote will take place “in a matter of days,” according to a release from his campaign.


The announcement is the latest move by Paul, a Republican 2016 presidential candidate, to stay in the good graces of social conservatives. Republicans are pushing to investigate and strip government funding from Planned Parenthood in the wake of undercover videos showing the organization’s officials talking about fetal tissue donations in explicit terms.

The latest video, released Tuesday, includes graphic depictions of a technician sorting through the tissue collected after an abortion. Planned Parenthood has denied any wrongdoing.

Last week, Paul introduced an amendment to a highway bill that would have defunded Planned Parenthood.

Other presidential candidates have also sought to highlight their outrage about the videos. Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio, two of Paul’s 2016 Republican opponents, for example, have begun using the revelations to raise money. Cruz sent out an email to supporters asking them for a “emergency contribution of $35, $50 or more” and also asking them if they “support Planned Parenthood or do you support Life?”

Rubio sent out a similar fundraising email. His website cited Rubio’s previous vote to defund Planned Parenthood and also highlighted a speech he gave at the National Right to Life Presidential Candidate Forum.

The “Women Betrayed” rally, organized by Students for Life for America and Pro-Life Future, is meant to increase support for defunding Planned Parenthood and will feature a number of congressional Republicans as well as Ben Carson, Paul’s rival for the GOP nomination.