AP Photo House votes to defund Planned Parenthood for one year

The House on Friday approved legislation to defund Planned Parenthood for one year and to add new medical and reporting requirements on live births resulting from an attempted abortion.

The bills were the latest in the House’s response to a series of videos that opponents of Planned Parenthood say show that the organization is making money off the trafficking of human fetal tissue and organs. Planned Parenthood denies such claims and says the videos were highly edited.


But the videos have enflamed the already contentious debate over abortion and Planned Parenthood and are threatening to hold up a bill to fund the government before it runs out of money on Oct. 1. Friday's votes, however, are unlikely to satisfy conservative lawmakers who are pushing Republican leaders to cut off Planned Parenthood's federal support in must-pass legislation funding the government.

The bill to defund Planned Parenthood was approved 241-187 with the support of two Democrats. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) voted present because he said the bill's language wasn't strong enough. The bill adding criminal penalties for not treating a baby born alive in the course of an attempted abortion passed 248-177 with the support of five Democrats. One Democrat voted present. Neither bill is expected to pass the Senate if Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were to bring them up for a vote. President Barack Obama said he would veto them.

Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), who sponsored H.R. 3504, the bill that would add criminal penalties, says his legislation would ensure that health care providers care for a baby that is born during an attempted abortion. Any health provider who is aware of anyone who violates that law would be subject to criminal penalties if they don’t report it. But opponents say that the language is not only repetitive — any baby born alive is already treated as a person with rights to medical care — but goes further than existing law and “would likely have a chilling effect, reducing access to care,” the White House said in its veto threat.

The defunding bill, H.R. 3134, would eliminate about $255 million in federal funds to Planned Parenthood, according to the Congressional Budget Office. But the cuts would likely result in more Medicaid spending down the road — $20 million in the first year and a total of $60 million over the next decade.

CBO, which said that its predictions were very rough, estimated that cutting Planned Parenthood's federal funds would result in less access to birth control services, leading to more pregnancies. A portion of those pregnancies and children would likely be covered by Medicaid.





"This is not about pro-choice or prolife,” said Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.). “This is about the gruesome practices at an organization that receives over $500 million a year from the federal government. …I’ve seen the videos. And I can tell you that that is not health care.”

But three Republicans joined Democrats against defunding Planned Parenthood. Rep. Richard Hanna of New York, one of those Republicans, said that he opposed the bill “in support of women’s health care.” “We all share a common goal: to reduce the number of abortions in this country to zero, which makes us all pro-life,” he said. “But defunding Planned Parenthood won’t accomplish that goal.”

Democrats said that the GOP is basing the effort on some "YouTube videos" and is merely trying to undercut women’s health care to score political points with its base. “This feels like deja vu,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.). “Once again, the House is ignoring the challenges facing our nation in order to attack women’s health.” Planned Parenthood strongly opposed the bills, arguing that they would hurt women’s health.

“Now that the false claims against Planned Parenthood have fallen apart, politicians are heartlessly scrambling to attack women’s access to health care however they can,” said Eric Ferrero, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “It’s clear those behind these attacks have always had a clear agenda: to ban abortion, and cut millions of women and men across the country from necessary reproductive health care.”