The Senate is poised to vote Monday on a bill to defund Planned Parenthood brought by pro-life Republicans even as pro-choice groups take to federal court to stop the release of more graphic undercover videos on the fetal tissue business.

The bill would strip Planned Parenthood of its half-billion dollars in annual federal funding, a vote that puts swing state Democrats in a political bind even if the measure fails to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster.

Also on Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco will weigh whether to impose a long-term ban on the center’s release of undercover footage from the National Abortion Federation’s closed meetings.

Both events spring directly from the release last month of four undercover videos by The Center for Medical Progress, founded by 26-year-old David Daleiden, who spent nearly three years recording Planned Parenthood officials and others connected to fetal tissue and organ donations from abortions.

Republicans continued to weigh in Sunday in favor of defunding Planned Parenthood, citing the disturbing footage showing the organization’s doctors haggling over the price of fetal tissue and the best procedures for leaving valuable human organs intact.

“A lot of people, even a lot of pro-choice people, are upset by these videos,” Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think most Americans don’t want their tax dollars going to this. So I think when something is so morally repugnant to so many people, why should tax dollars go to this?”

Mr. Paul, an ophthalmologist and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, released an ad two days ago featuring footage from the undercover videos and emphasizing his credentials as a “pro-life doctor.”

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood swung back last week with its own ad featuring a young woman named Brandi who was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer after an examination at a Planned Parenthood clinic.

“I can honestly say that I am here today, healthy and alive, because of Planned Parenthood,” she said in the ad, which urges Congress to “stand with Planned Parenthood.”

Supporters of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, pointed out that the measure makes the same funding available to other clinics that provide medical services without offering abortions.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie disputed Planned Parenthood’s repeated contention that its federal funding goes toward medical procedures such as cancer screenings and pregnancy testing, not abortions.

“No, all money is fungible,” said Mr. Christie on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “They can’t say that none of the money goes toward abortion. Of course it does. Of course it does. Money comes into Planned Parenthood, and it is fungible. They can spend it on what they wish.”

At the same time, Mr. Christie and Mr. Paul were unenthusiastic about calls to shut down the government unless Planned Parenthood is defunded. Eighteen House Republicans have said they will vote against any funding resolutions that do not include a defunding provision.

“I support any legislation that will defund Planned Parenthood. But I don’t think you start out with your objective to shut down government,” Mr. Paul said.

Added Mr. Christie, “We shouldn’t be throwing around threats like that. You know, it doesn’t help. And we didn’t do too well when we shut down the government the last time. So I think everybody should take a deep breath, but we should be very firm as a party that this type of conduct by an organization — the harvesting and selling of fetal body parts — is just deplorable.”

Meanwhile, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick III of the Northern District of California in San Francisco is slated to hear arguments on a motion for a temporary injunction against the release of future footage filed by the National Abortion Federation.

The NAF, which won a temporary restraining order Friday, argued that the injunction is necessary to protect the safety of its members at its annual meetings, the dates and locations of which are only released to attendees and which feature high security.

“That security has been compromised by the illegal activities of a group with ties to those who believe it is justifiable to murder abortion providers,” said NAF president and CEO Vicki Saporta. “CMP went to great lengths to infiltrate our meetings as part of a campaign to intimidate and attack abortion providers.”

Undercover investigators from the center attended the NAF’s 2015 annual meeting in Baltimore and 2014 meeting in San Francisco, posing as officials from the fake company Biomax and using phony California driver’s licenses, according to the lawsuit.

They also signed nondisclosure statements agreeing not to make audio or video recordings of the meetings or release information without NAF’s consent, the lawsuit said.

“Daleiden and his cohorts roamed the exhibit hall, attempting to speak with meeting attendees, gathering information about names and locations of abortion providers, and, as NAF now believes, surreptitiously recording conversations at the meeting,” said the lawsuit. “Multiple NAF staff recall Biomax’s agents approaching them.”

The federation is seeking to prevent the pro-life center from releasing video footage, disclosing the dates and locations of future NAF meetings, publishing the names and addresses of NAF officials and attempting to gain access to future meetings.

Mr. Daleiden issued a statement late Friday reiterating that the organization “follows all applicable laws” and accused the NAF of engaging in criminal activity in regard to fetal tissue sales from abortions.

“The National Abortion Federation is a criminal organization that has spent years conspiring with Planned Parenthood on how to violate federal laws on partial-birth abortion and fetal tissue sales,” said his statement. “The Center for Medical Progress will contest any attempts to suppress our First Amendment rights to free speech or silence the freedom of the citizen press.”

This is the second temporary restraining order granted against the pro-life group.

Last week, StemExpress, a California bioservice company that acts as a conduit between Planned Parenthood clinics and medical research facilities, won a temporary restraining order against the release of footage.

A hearing before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joanne O’Donnell on the company’s request for a temporary injunction pending a lawsuit is scheduled for Aug. 19.

The pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, which spent the weekend urging members to put pressure on their senators, predicted the issues raised by the undercover videos would influence the 2016 presidential election.

“The speed and intensity with which presidential candidates and Senate leaders have responded to the Planned Parenthood scandal is revealing of how this will play out in the coming election cycle,” said SBA president Marjorie Dannenfelser.

The Democratic front-runner, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, has called the videos “disturbing” but has also blasted any effort to defund Planned Parenthood.

“It’s another effort by the Republicans to try to limit the health care options for women, and we should not let them succeed once again,” Mrs. Clinton said last week in Maryland.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.