Rand Paul invokes Obamacare as a reason to defund Planned Parenthood

Rand Paul has long supported defunding Planned Parenthood, but on Tuesday he invoked a new reason: Obamacare.

“I think there’s a strong argument, even for those on the other side of the coin, that guess what, you know, we have free health care everywhere now, we don’t need Planned Parenthood,” the Kentucky Republican, who is an ardent critic of Obamacare, said in an interview with Kelly Golden on WSC-FM. “We have community health centers that have doubled in their funding. We’ve put $5 billion into community health centers,” he said, referring to a recent funding extension. “They do everything that Planned Parenthood does, except for abortion.


“There’s absolutely no reason for any money to go into Planned Parenthood,” he added.

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, invested heavily in community health centers, creating the Community Health Center Fund to allocate $11 billion over five years to centers across the nation.

In the wake of a hidden-camera video showing a Planned Parenthood official negotiating over the price of fetal tissue, Republicans have renewed their calls for the federal government to stop providing funds to Planned Parenthood to operate its clinics, which provide abortions in addition to a variety of other services, around the country.

Paul said that Republicans in Congress are going to bring a bill to defund Planned Parenthood to a vote by the legislature’s August recess.

“I’ve persisted and I’ve fought and I’ve fought,” he said. “I think that what they’re doing, manipulating the baby to harvest baby parts and organs, is despicable.”

When asked whether he believes the bill will pass despite widespread Democratic opposition, Paul said, “I think there are a few Democrats, who have said they’re pro-life, who are going to be put on the spot.”

The video, he noted, change the calculation. “Even people in the pro-choice community are appalled.”