Despite opposition, Senate Republicans still plan to defund Planned Parenthood

The Republican party continues to be hugely divided on the issue of if, how, and when to defund Planned Parenthood.

Much of the disagreement within the party involves a bill which would repeal certain aspects of Obamacare, while also defunding Planned Parenthood. A few members of the party oppose the bill due to the defunding aspect, while several oppose it for not going far enough to repeal Obamacare.

But earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made it clear that Republicans in the Senate still intend to pursue the defunding of Planned Parenthood, despite the opposition from within the party, as well as the expected opposition from the Democratic party.

“We’re confident that the Obamacare repeal bill… will contain a defund of Planned Parenthood,” McConnell told reporters. “We’ll be moving to that after Thanksgiving.”

The legislation would repeal Obamacare’s individual and employer mandates, as well as the Cadillac and medical device taxes, and it recently passed the House with only seven Republicans voting against it. However, the bill may meet stiffer opposition in the Senate. Several prominent conservative Senators, including Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Mike Lee have come out against the legislation, as they do not believe it goes far enough in repealing Obamacare.

Several pro-life groups, including National Right to Life and the Susan B. Anthony List, have spoken out in support of the legislation including the defunding of Planned Parenthood. National Right to Life has stated that it will score the bill, provided the bill includes the defunding of Planned Parenthood. This means that Republican Senators who vote against the bill would lose points in their National Right to Life score, an important voting point among many pro-lifers.