GOP draft platform calls for defunding Planned Parenthood

A draft adopted by the Republican Party Platform Committee recognizes the “fundamental right to life” for the preborn, as well as defunding Planned Parenthood.

The relevant provisions included:

The Constitution’s guarantee that no one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property deliberately echoes the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that ‘all’ are ‘endowed by their Creator’ with the right to life. Accordingly, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.

We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth.  We oppose the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood, that perform or advocate it and will not fund or subsidize health care which includes abortion coverage.

The platform still has to be adopted next week by the full convention in Cleveland, but the outlook is a positive one.

The 2012 party platform had similar provisions on abortion.

The platform committee is co-chaired by Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-VA), who have 100 percent ratings from the National Right to Life Committee, and Governor Mary Falin (R-OK), who had a 100 percent rating while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. Americans United for Life also ranked Oklahoma the most pro-life state for 2016.

In April, Donald Trump, who is now the presumptive Republican nominee, raised concerns with the possibility of a platform that would include exceptions on abortion.

Republican National Committee Chair Reince Prebius put most of those fears to rest by saying that the platform was up to the delegates. “I think our platform is pretty clear on those subjects. Life begins at conception, and that 14th Amendment rights apply to unborn children. And I would suspect that that is what the platform is going to say after Cleveland.”

The language and committee chairs above are promising.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, seemed encouraged with the process. While Perkins said he “can’t necessarily predict what’s going to happen” when it comes to Trump and the GOP platform, he does think the Trump campaign is “going to respect the platform” and the work of the delegates.

If adopted, the platform would make a concerted effort to do what Congress has already voted to do. Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate defunded Planned Parenthood earlier this year, though President Barack Obama vetoed the action.

Live Action President Lila Rose shared her thoughts on the platform in a statement:

Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to support Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion chain that commits over 320,000 abortions each year.  While the American people are told their money doesn’t go to fund abortions, the billions in taxpayer funding Planned Parenthood has collected over the years has freed up money elsewhere in its budget, allowing it to build more abortion facilities and buy more abortion equipment.

In addition to the heart-wrenching fact that Planned Parenthood takes over 320,000 innocent lives each year, the abortion giant has been caught in one scandal after another, from covering up for pimps sex trafficking 13-year-old girls, to encouraging mothers to abort their baby girls in favor of having boys, to the barbaric practice of harvesting and trafficking the body parts of the precious babies it aborts.

Any of these atrocities alone should have disqualified Planned Parenthood from receiving one dime from taxpayers, but the abortion giant gets constant cover from its friends in Washington.  Planned Parenthood receives over a half billion dollars each year from taxpayers, then gives back millions in campaign contributions to those politicians who vote to keep the money flowing.  This corrupt cycle of campaign contributions in return for forced taxpayer support must stop.

One year ago on Thursday, Planned Parenthood— a national and world leader in committing abortions— was exposed for their practices in trafficking baby body parts.

Should the abortion chain no longer have a president who defends and protects them at every step of the way, they may be defunded for good.