At his weekly press conference on November 17, Speaker Paul Ryan implied to reporters that the House will defund Planned Parenthood. When asked if the Republican House would pass legislation to prohibit federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood, Ryan replied:
We’ve already shown what we believe with respect to funding Planned Parenthood. We put a bill on President Obama’s desk in reconciliation. Our position has not changed.
In December 2015, the Senate voted to defund Planned Parenthood in a 52-47 vote after Planned Parenthood was caught profiting from the sales of aborted fetal body parts. In January 2016, the House also voted to defund Planned Parenthood, 240-181. Republicans voted 239-3 for the bill, and Democrats voted 1-178 against it. President Obama vetoed the bill as expected. However, the vote in favor of defunding Planned Parenthood was a step in the right direction, regardless of the veto. The defunding successes in the House and the Senate signal that when a new president takes office in 2017, the bill could be passed again, and this time, it might not be vetoed.
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to defund Planned Parenthood because of the organization’s abortions, and if he stays true to his word, the end of taxpayer dollars supporting Planned Parenthood could be a reality in the near future. When asked during an interview with The Brody File if he would defund Planned Parenthood, which receives over half a billion dollars yearly from taxpayers, Trump responded, “Yes, because as long as they do the abortion, I am not for funding Planned Parenthood.”
With a Republican House ready to pass another bill in favor of defunding America’s abortion corporation and a president-elect in favor of defunding, the tide is certainly turning against Planned Parenthood, and it is running scared. Planned Parenthood immediately began to beg for donations after Trump was elected.
With over 13,000 qualified health care centers available to serve women and families in need, the millions being given to Planned Parenthood — which donates to political campaigns, holds celebrity events, and flies on private jets — could be given to those centers, helping women more effectively than ever.
