Call to Halt Planned Parenthood Funding Blocked in Senate

Voting 53-46, the U.S. Senate succeeded in derailing a GOP bill seeking the defunding of Planned Parenthood from becoming law, reports the Washington Post.  

To have proceeded forward, S. 1881, titled "A bill to prohibit Federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America," sponsored by Senator Joni Ernst [R-Iowa], needed a super majority of 60 ayes at the 100-person chamber.

Planned Parenthood, the largest U.S. provider of reproductive health services, with 97 percent of its services focused on breast and cervical cancer screening, HIV screening and counseling, contraception, and 3 percent on abortion, got more than a third of its $1.3 billion in revenue last year from government sources, according to the Washington Post. 

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [R-Ky] fast-tracked the proposed legislation at the Senate floor, following public outrage from the release online of four videos by the pro-life organization Center for Medical Progress (CMP), which purportedly show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of harvested fetal organs and tissue, according to the Associated Press.

McConnell, however, opted to join the Democrats in voting to block the GOP bill, a tactical procedural move that would allow him to force a fresh vote at a future date that will be determined later.

Despite the measure not succeeding in getting moved forward, the anti-abortion Family Research Council thanked the majority of senators who did vote to end taxpayer funding "to a scandal-plagued organization," reports the AZCentral.

"When Congress returns in September, they must take the next step in redirecting taxpayer money from Planned Parenthood to the thousands of health care centers that don't perform abortions," Tony Perkins, the group's president, told the news service agency.

By September, the Republicans are expected to try to stop Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding again. Aside from the Ernst-sponsored bill, Sen. Rand Paul, a GOP presidential contender, has introduced a tax code amendment proposal that would strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding for a range of women's health services.

At the House, Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) has introduced a measure that would impose an immediate one-year moratorium on federal funding support for Planned Parenthood, pending completion of the Congressional investigations on the organization's practices. There are currently three ongoing congressional committees' investigating the alleged Planned Parenthood wrong-doings.

By fall, once the issue is taken up for floor deliberations, conservatives in the House and Senate said they are vowing to block passage of any 2016 spending bill unless federal funding for Planned Parenthood is halted, according to Associated Press.

In turn, the White House has said it will veto any legislation that would stop funding for the non-profit organization. The standoff, as observed by AZCentral, could lead to a government shutdown. Congress must pass legislation by Sept. 30 to keep the government funded for the next fiscal year.