With Donald Trump emerging victorious on Election Day, the nation’s largest abortion chain knew they were in trouble. They quickly began begging for money, saying they were “devastated, angry, shocked, disgusted” that Trump and Republicans won so heavily. Planned Parenthood President and CEO Cecile Richards also appeared on MSNBC, where she told host Rachel Maddow that Roe v. Wade was on the ballot this election, and the two women discussed a “doomsday plan.”
Why all the concern?
Well, this year, the Republican Party adopted the most pro-life platform in history. They promised to end taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood, ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, ban the use of aborted babies’ body parts in research, and also enact criminal and civil penalties for abortionists who don’t provide medical care for babies born alive after abortions. In addition to all of this, Trump has vowed to make the Hyde Amendment permanent law. Vice President-elect Mike Pence has promised to “send Roe to the ash heap of history.” So Planned Parenthood clearly has reason to worry as their years of leeching off of the government looked like they might be over.
However, President Obama has predictably been coming to the rescue.
The Obama administration proposed a new rule in September that would ban states from withholding Title X funding from a provider for any reason other than the “ability to deliver services to program beneficiaries in an effective manner.” If the rule takes effect, this would mean states could no longer vote to defund Planned Parenthood because it performs abortions.
Richards, of course, celebrated Obama’s action. “This will make a real difference in so many people’s lives,” she said. “Thanks to the Obama administration, women will still be able to access the birth control they need to plan their families, and the cancer screenings they need to stay healthy.”
Title X is a program signed into law over 40 years ago with the goal of providing family planning services for low-income Americans. However, it has been used to give millions of dollars to abortion providers, despite the fact that funding abortion is illegal under federal law. This move by the Obama administration is a blatant move to protect Planned Parenthood — before a new president takes over in January.
Rep. Dianne Black, a pro-life Republican from Tennessee, slammed the proposal as a “stunt.” In a September statement, she said:
This latest stunt from President Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services should surprise absolutely no one. We’ve known all along that the Obama Administration will go to untold lengths to protect its friends in the big abortion industry. After all, this Administration has previously used backdoor maneuvers to line Planned Parenthood’s pockets with Obamacare navigator grants and praised the abortion provider’s “high ethical standard” even after it was caught trafficking in baby body parts. Now, they have taken the unprecedented step of thwarting states’ rights with a shady proposed rule change that prevents states from funding the providers who will best serve their citizens. In the coming days, I intend to lead a letter expressing the deep concerns of Members of Congress on this proposal, but we won’t stop there. We must use the full force of Congress and the grassroots strength of the national pro-life movement to defeat this absurd rule and prevent the Obama Administration from acting unilaterally to carry out political favors and prop up a scandal-ridden abortion provider.
