Republican effort to defund Planned Parenthood, 2015

Republicans launched investigations into Planned Parenthood's abortion practices after secretly recorded videos were released by the Center for Medical Progress.

By Kelly Coyle

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Abortion Republican effort to defund Planned Parenthood, 2015
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After the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) released a series of secretly recorded videos that showed Planned Parenthood employees discussing research conducted on aborted fetal tissue, videos that Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards called "heavily edited" and "fraudulent," a group of conservative Republicans pledged not to vote for any funding legislation that continued to allocate federal dollars to the reproductive healthcare organization. After weeks of negotiations and Speaker of the House John Boehner's (R-Ohio) announcement of his resignation, Congress passed a temporary spending measure that included funding for Planned Parenthood. President Barack Obama signed the legislation to keep the government funded until December 11, 2015, just hours before a potential shutdown.

In a final effort to defund Planned Parenthood before the end of the fiscal year, House Republicans passed H Con Res 79, an enrollment correction that added language that would defund Planned Parenthood to HR 719, the legislative vehicle used to keep the government open. According to The Hill, "voting on it as an enrollment correction kept it separate from the underlying spending bill, therefore ensuring it would still reach Obama’s desk in time to avoid a shutdown."

Amid the shutdown talks on September 25, Boehner announced that he would resign from Congress at the end of October 2015, which cleared a path for passing a clean funding bill. According to The Hill, "Conservatives had warned Boehner they might file a motion to remove him as Speaker if he worked with Democrats to pass the short-term funding bill including Planned Parenthood funds. But once Boehner announced he would step down, conservatives lost their leverage."

Although their most recent effort to strip Planned Parenthood of their $500 million in annual federal funding failed, Republicans have launched four investigations into Planned Parenthood's abortion practices. Congressional Republicans have also introduced multiple bills to defund Planned Parenthood, end late-term abortions and place strict limits on fetal tissue research.

Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul (R-Ky.) were the first to bring their bill to defund Planned Parenthood to the Senate floor, but their effort failed during a procedural vote on August 3, 2015. S 1881, A bill to prohibit Federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, fell seven votes short of the 60 needed to proceed to a vote.

"Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Defunding Planned Parenthood (C-SPAN)," August 3, 2015.

After the vote, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that Republicans had "lost their moral compass" in their effort to defund the women's healthcare organization, according to The Huffington Post. Reid also promised that "Senate Democrats will fight vigorously this and any other attempt by Republicans to deprive American women of health care."

House Republicans made their first move to defund Planned Parenthood by passing legislation that proposed prohibiting funding the organization for one year while Congress conducts an investigation into their abortion and fetal tissue practices. The bill, HR 3134 - the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, passed by a vote of 241-187 on September 18, 2015. On the same day, the House also passed HR 3504 - the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which proposes instituting protections for children who are born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion. It passed by a vote of 248-177 with five Democrats joining all 248 Republicans in support of the bill.

On September 22, 2015, the Senate rejected a motion to proceed to HR 36 - the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act by a vote of 54-42, falling short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. The bill, which the House passed on May 13, 2015, proposed prohibiting abortions from being performed after a fetus is determined to be 20 weeks or older, with exceptions made for the welfare of the mother, rape and incest.

The Senate made their next move on September 24, 2015, by voting to end debate on a spending bill that proposed defunding Planned Parenthood. S Amdt 2669 to HJ Res 61 was rejected by a vote of 47-52. Sixty votes were needed to proceed. Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans in favor of proceeding to the bill, while eight Republicans voted with Democrats against proceeding.

After the vote, leaders of both parties criticized each other. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, "I regret the Democratic leadership determined a crisis would be necessary to advance a policy aim of growing the government and that our colleagues decided accordingly to block every single funding bill. We've been forced to pursue a continuing resolution as a result."

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said, "Instead of voting today on a bipartisan way forward, we’ll have another failed vote. Republicans should abandon their commitment to fruitless votes and pass a clean funding bill."

The day before the deadline to pass legislation to continue funding the government, the House passed HR 3495 - the Women's Public Health and Safety Act by a vote of 236-193 on September 29. The bill, introduced by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.), proposes allowing states to exclude organizations that perform abortions from receiving Medicaid funds.

The next day, the Senate and House passed HR 719, the legislative vehicle used to fund the government until December 11, 2015. President Obama signed it into law on the same day.

After the vote, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said, "I am disappointed that despite the gruesome and incontrovertible video evidence of Planned Parenthood’s activities, the president got his way and nothing changed. Taxpayers are tired of being treated this way, and they are fed up with politics as usual."

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, sent a letter to Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, informing him that her organization would no longer accept compensation for donating aborted fetal tissue. In her letter, Richards also argued that those who have opposed fetal tissue donation are doing so because they want to ban abortion. She wrote, "The real goal of these extremists has nothing to do with our fetal tissue donation compliance process but is instead to ban abortion in the U.S. and block women from getting any health care from Planned Parenthood. Today, we’re taking their smokescreen away and pushing forward with our important work on behalf of millions of women, men, and young people. ...In order to completely debunk the disingenuous argument that our opponents have been using – and to reveal the true political purpose of these attacks – our Federation has decided, going forward, that any Planned Parenthood health center that is involved in donating tissue after an abortion for medical research will follow the model already in place at one of our two affiliates currently facilitating donations for fetal tissue research. That affiliate accepts no reimbursement for its reasonable expenses – even though reimbursement is fully permitted under the 1993 law. Going forward, all of our health centers will follow the same policy, even if it means they will not recover reimbursements permitted by the 1993 law."

According to The Hill, two Planned Parenthood clinics donate aborted fetal tissue for medical research. Four clinics have ended their donation programs since July 2015.

CMP's Human Capital series

On July 14, the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) began releasing footage from their series, Human Capital, "a nearly 3-year-long investigative journalism study of Planned Parenthood’s illegal trafficking of aborted fetal parts," according to CMP's website.

The first video showed Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, discussing how body parts are salvaged during an abortion so that they can be used for medical research. Nucatola also discussed monetary compensation for the fetal body parts.

Planned Parenthood's president, Cecile Richards, responded to CMP's video and apologized for Nucatola's comments in her own video. She said, "This is unacceptable, and I personally apologize for the staff member’s tone and statements. ...Our donation programs, like any other high-quality healthcare providers, follow all laws and ethical guidelines."

"David Daleiden on CNN: Time for Planned Parenthood to Back Up Talking Points With Evidence," August 4, 2015.

CMP released a second video on July 21, 2015. The video showed Dr. Mary Gatter, Planned Parenthood's Medical Directors’ Council president, discussing compensation for aborted fetal body parts. CMP released videos with similar content on July 31, August 4, August 25 and September 1.

Planned Parenthood repeatedly called the videos from CMP "heavily edited" and "fraudulent." Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards issued the following statement after Fusion GPS, a private research company, examined the first four videos: "We’ve said all along that these videos were heavily edited to deceive the public, and that’s what this expert analysis now shows. The more the public learns about this fraudulent, baseless attack on women’s health, the better, and that’s why today we’re laying everything out for leaders in Congress and for the public."

On its official website, the Center for Medical Progress gives the following description of its ideology and aims:

“

The Center for Medical Progress is a group of citizen journalists dedicated to monitoring and reporting on medical ethics and advances. We are concerned about contemporary bioethical issues that impact human dignity, and we oppose any interventions, procedures, and experiments that exploit the unequal legal status of any class of human beings. We envision a world in which medical practice and biotechnology ally with and serve the goods of human nature and do not destroy, disfigure, or work against them.

”

Investigating the Center for Medical Progress

"Planned Parenthood: Cecile Richards' Official Video Response," July 16, 2015.

On August 27, 2015, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, sent a letter to congressional leadership discussing the controversy surrounding the videos released by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). She argued that Planned Parenthood follows all laws related to abortion and fetal tissue research and "is proud to have a role in fetal tissue research"; she added that "fetal tissue research is a miniscule [sic] part of the work of Planned Parenthood."

Richards also submitted the results of an investigation into the videos released by the Center for Medical Research conducted by Fusion GPS. She wrote:

“

We know that the videos Mr. Daleiden has released were deceptively edited to smear Planned Parenthood. They omit exculpatory passages and splice excerpts together to create false impressions. ...Because of these significant distortions and omissions, we contracted with a research firm which engaged the services of a video forensics expert, a television producer, and an independent transcription agency. These experts concluded that the videos – even the alleged 'full footage' videos – do not present a complete or accurate record of the events they purport to depict. Their review revealed that Mr. Daleiden edited content out of the alleged 'full footage' videos, heavily edited the short videos so as to misrepresent statements made by Planned Parenthood representatives, and produced transcripts with substantive omissions or edits.

”

On August 31, 2015, David Daleiden, project lead and executive director for CMP, wrote a letter to congressional leadership in response to Planned Parenthood's investigation, defending the legitimacy of the Center for Medical Progress' videos and urging Congress to continue investigating Planned Parenthood. Daleiden wrote, "Planned Parenthood’s recent pseudoscientific, paid analysis of CMP videotapes by a political opposition research firm is a poor attempt to distract from the serious admissions of Planned Parenthood leadership in the videos: videos which Planned Parenthood’s own analysis admits 'did not reveal widespread evidence of substantive video manipulation' and 'shows no evidence of audio manipulation.'" He added that CMP would present the "original recording files to law enforcement and to Congress to the extent we are lawfully able to."

House investigations of Planned Parenthood

The House Judiciary Committee, House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Oversight Committee all launched investigations into Planned Parenthood's abortion practices at former Speaker of the House John Boehner's request. On September 26, 2015, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) announced the formation of an additional investigative committee, later named the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives.

According to the House Republican conference, the committees investigating Planned Parenthood are addressing the following questions:

“

1. Are abortion providers profiting from the sale of fetal tissue? 2. Are abortion providers changing procedures in order to maximize the harvesting of fetal tissue? 3. Are patients giving sufficient informed consent when fetal tissue is donated? 4. Were federal laws violated and whether federal law sufficiently prohibits these barbaric acts? 5. What congressional action is necessary to further respond to these horrific acts? 6. Was the Department of Justice aware of these practices and DID IT properly enforce the laws that prevent these acts?

”

House Judiciary Committee
On July 15, 2015, House Judiciary Committee chair Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) announced that the committee would investigate "allegations that Planned Parenthood abortion doctors altered abortion procedures in order to harvest the organs and body parts of aborted children for money." After making the announcement, Goodlatte issued the following statement: "Every human life is sacred and should be protected from the atrocities allegedly undertaken by Planned Parenthood. The House Judiciary Committee is investigating these horrific acts including ascertaining how Congress might act." Goodlatte also urged members of the Senate to end late-term abortions by voting for the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

During his opening statement of the September 9 House Judiciary Committee investigation into Planned Parenthood's abortion practices, Goodlatte said:

House Judiciary Committee, "Examining the Horrific Abortion Practices at the Nation's Largest Abortion Provider (EventID=103920)," September 10, 2015.

“

Any discussion of abortion is inherently difficult, as it is unquestionably the taking of a human life. That discussion becomes even more difficult when it turns to the monetary value of the body parts of more developed unborn children -- and to the prospect of exposing them to potentially more painful abortions, conducted in different ways, without the mother’s consent, to preserve the added value of their more fully developed body parts. Yet these videos force us all to engage in that discussion, one that this committee has been engaged in for some time now, and which now begins its phase of public hearings. ...I hope that this hearing helps to shed light on some of the nation’s darkest corners so that the atrocities that some would very much like to dehumanize can be exposed for what they really are.

”

During the hearing, members of the committee heard the testimonies of women who survived because of failed abortion procedures. The hearing and the testimonies of Gianna Jessen and Melissa Ohden were driven by House Republicans who wanted to highlight the risks of late-term abortions and the rights of the unborn, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In a letter to congressional leadership sent on August 27, 2015, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, wrote, "Mr. Daleiden and his associates have sought to infiltrate Planned Parenthood affiliates and unsuccessfully to entrap Planned Parenthood physicians and staff for nearly three years. It is clear they acted fraudulently and unethically – and perhaps illegally. Yet it is Planned Parenthood, not Mr. Daleiden, that is currently subject to four separate congressional investigations."

"Protecting Infants: Ending Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Providers Who Violate the Law," September 17, 2015.

In response to Richards and some members of Congress who share Richards' point of view, Goodlatte addressed why Planned Parenthood, and not CMP's Daleiden, was being investigated. He said, "Some members have questioned why our investigation is focused on the conduct of Planned Parenthood and not on the conduct of those who obtained the undercover footage. Part of the answer is that Planned Parenthood, unlike the undercover reporters, is granted huge amounts of federal funds, making it our business as members of Congress -- charged with controlling the federal purse strings -- to do what we can to ensure federal taxpayers are not contributing to the sorts of horrors reflected in the undercover videos."

Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood, criticized the hearings, saying, "These hearings are not really hearings, they are political theater oriented toward taking away the right for women to access abortion in this country. There was no evidence of any wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood."

House Committee on Energy and Commerce
On September 17, 2015, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing titled, "Protecting Infants: Ending Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Providers Who Violate the Law." Lawmakers reviewed legislation authored by Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) that proposed ensuring that abortion providers who fail to adhere to the requirements of the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 are punished.

During his opening statement, chairman Joseph Pitts (R-Penn.) said:

“

Given the factual record, some states have already taken steps to block state taxpayer funding for providers, including Planned Parenthood, in light of some unconscionable atrocities –both apparent and documented from state judicial and enforcement actions. No State should be forced to continue to include providers in their Medicaid program who commit reprehensible acts. And taxpayers should not be forced to pay for it. The Committee wants to ensure States have appropriate flexibility of excluding from their Medicaid programs providers who are suspected of serious violations of federal law.

”

The Protecting Infants Born Alive Act and the Protect Infants from Partial-birth Abortion Act were discussed during the hearing. Both bills propose excluding abortion providers from receiving Medicaid, Medicare and Children’s Health Insurance Program funds.

House Oversight Committee
The House Oversight Committee held a hearing to examine the use of taxpayer funding by Planned Parenthood on September 29, 2015. During the hearing, House Oversight chair Jason Chaffetz, (R-Utah) argued that Planned Parenthood should not receive federal funding. He questioned Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards' $600,000 salary and "lavish" parties and events held by the organization. Chaffetz said, "The question before us is: Does this organization -- does Planned Parenthood really need a federal subsidy? Does it need federal dollars? Every time we spend a federal dollar, what we're doing is pulling money out of somebody's pocket and we're giving it to somebody else. What I don't like, what I don't want to tolerate, what I don't want to become numb to is wasting those taxpayer dollars."

Rep. Gerry Connolly, (D-Va.) defended Richards and Planned Parenthood saying, "My colleagues like to say this isn't a war on women. Look at how you've been treated as a witness. The disrespect, the misogyny rampant here today, tells us what is really going on." The full hearing can be viewed below:

"Planned Parenthood's Taxpayer Funding - Part 1," September 29, 2015.

"Planned Parenthood's Taxpayer Funding - Part 2," September 29, 2015.

"Planned Parenthood's Taxpayer Funding - Part 3," September 29, 2015.

Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) delivered the "Weekly Republican Address" on September 26, 2015, and spoke about the Republican effort to investigate Planned Parenthood and protect the unborn. Blackburn announced that members of the House would form a select committee to investigate Planned Parenthood, introduce legislation to protect the unborn and continue to try to keep taxpayers from having to fund Planned Parenthood. Blackburn concluded her speech by noting that the Pope reminded everyone of their duty to "protect and defend human life at every stage of development" when he addressed Congress.

"Weekly Republican Address: Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)," September 26, 2015.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized Republicans for creating another committee to investigate Planned Parenthood. She said, "Make no mistake: House Republicans have renewed their war on women's health… Hard-working families deserve better than a taxpayer-funded Republican Committee fixated on dismantling women’s health. With this Committee, Republicans are trying to make it easier to shut down the government and harder for millions of women to access the lifesaving health care they need."

The investigation will cost $300,000 and run through Jan. 2, 2016. "The money came from a House Administration Committee reserve fund that pays for unanticipated expenses during the 2015-16 term of the 114th Congress," according to the USA Today.

Letter to investigate CMP

"Rep. Jan Schakowsky calls for an investigation, Center for Medical Progress," July 28, 2015.

On July 21, 2015, Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.) and Yvette Clarke (N.Y.) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and California Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) requesting that they investigate the Center for Medical Progress for potentially violating federal and California laws when they investigated and released videos about Planned Parenthood. The authors wrote, "Press accounts regarding this incident have reported that this group created 'fake identification' in order to falsely impersonate corporate executives and 'gain access' to meetings with Planned Parenthood officials. It is unclear from these reports what forms of fake identification they created, whether any false statements were made on applications for this fake identification, whether this fake identification purported to be issued by or was processed through any state or federal agency, or whether any fraudulent information was transmitted electronically or through the mail relating to this fake identification."

The authors also asked Lynch and Harris to investigate the "specific paperwork Mr. Daleiden’s group filed, whether the address listed ever hosted any legitimate business concern, the extent to which this group may have submitted false statements to governmental entities, whether the group transmitted fraudulent information through the mail or electronic communications, or whether this fake company filed tax returns or other documents with the Internal Revenue Service or other federal agencies."

Letters to defund Planned Parenthood

Thirty-one representatives had signed a letter urging the leaders of the House to defund Planned Parenthood as of September 15, 2015. The letter, authored by Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), reads in part:

“

We are deeply disturbed at recent reports that Planned Parenthood has been selling the tissue of unborn babies for profit. As firm believers in the sanctity of life, beginning at conception, we are horrified at these reports. It is imperative that Congress do everything within its power to investigate these reports and take immediate action to stop them. In the meantime, we must act to fully defund Planned Parenthood. Please know that we cannot and will not support any funding resolution – an appropriations bill, an omnibus package, a continuing resolution, or otherwise – that contains any funding for Planned Parenthood, including mandatory funding streams.

”

As of September 15, 2015, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) were the only members of the Senate who had signed a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowing to oppose any legislation that directs funds to Planned Parenthood. A portion of the letter reads: "The callous view that those in the abortion industry, like Planned Parenthood, take toward women and unborn children is an affront to natural rights and human decency. Whether or not one accepts the view of our President that abortions should be legal and widely available at any stage of pregnancy, we should all be able to unite around our President’s stated understanding of the 'tradition in this town, historically, of not financing abortions as part of government-funded health care.'"

Republicans divided on a potential shutdown

Republican leaders Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and John Boehner (Ohio) expressed their desire to defund Planned Parenthood but said they were working to do so without shutting down the government. In an interview with WYMT, McConnell noted that voting to defund Planned Parenthood would ultimately be unsuccessful. He said, "We just don’t have the votes to get the outcome that we’d like. The president has made it very clear he is not going to sign any bill that includes defunding of Planned Parenthood, so that’s another issue that awaits a new president, hopefully with a different point of view about Planned Parenthood." Boehner asked three House committees to lead investigations into Planned Parenthood in "a move that was seen as an attempt to appease conservatives and channel their anger away from spending votes," according to The Washington Post.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is also running for president, was one of McConnell's and Boehner's most vocal opponents. Cruz, once again, did not rule out shutting down the government over Planned Parenthood funding, but he noted that a shutdown would not be his fault. During a conference call on August 25, Cruz told a large group of pastors to ask their congregations to watch the videos released by CMP and then call their elected officials in Congress and ask them to defund Planned Parenthood. Cruz said, "We can expect President Obama and many of the congressional Democrats to cry loudly that if Congress uses its authority, Congress will be quote 'shutting down the government.' That, of course, is nonsense. ...It is important that [Congress] hear also that a show vote will not suffice. An empty vote with no teeth on it will not suffice. Now is the time for Congress to act and actually end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood."

Ted Cruz on The Kelly File, August 4, 2015.

Cruz's strategy to defund Planned Parenthood was the same strategy he and a group of conservative Republicans, including presidential candidates Rand Paul and Marco Rubio (Fla.), used in 2013 when they attempted to defund President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, by refusing to vote for legislation to fund the government. The 2013 government shutdown lasted for 16 days, and Republicans took most of the blame. Bloomberg Politics writer Sahil Kapur argued that "[E]ven if the 2013 drama wasn't good for his party, it did help Cruz, turning him into a conservative hero. On the campaign trail, he has consistently defended the shutdown, arguing that it brought millions of Americans into the political debate."

Paul, who supported Cruz's effort in 2013 to defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which led to a government shutdown, said, "I support any legislation that will defund Planned Parenthood. But I don't think you start out with your objective to shut down government."

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) sent a letter to Cruz on September 17, 2015, asking him to explain his strategy to defund Planned Parenthood and avoid a government shutdown. Ayotte explained that she supports Cruz's effort to redirect funds from Planned Parenthood to other healthcare centers that specialize in women's health issues. She also noted that she voted for S1881 - A bill to prohibit Federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which failed in the Senate on August 3, 2015. Citing the failed vote, Ayotte asked Cruz: "How do we get 60 votes? And if for some reason there were 60 votes, how do we get to 67 votes in the Senate to overcome a Presidential veto?"

Cruz responded to Ayotte's letter during a September 18 radio interview with Sean Hannity. He said, "Well, you know that letter really reveals the problem with the thinking right at the top — and that’s a letter that came from leadership — Kelly wrote it, but it’s a leadership letter. Their view is unless unless you can get 67 senators on board, it’s not worth doing. If they believe that, I would encourage the next time Mitch McConnell runs for re-election for him to tell the people of Kentucky, ‘I will only do what Harry Reid agrees because I need 67 senators — I need Democrats — so I will hand over my vote to Harry Reid. Anytime Harry Reid says that it’s okay, I’ll fight for something, but if Harry Reid doesn’t, I won’t.’ That’s the problem."

On September 22, 2015, a group of 11 House Republicans lead by Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Ryan Costello (R-Pa.) sent a letter to their colleagues asking them to avoid a government shutdown. The freshmen argued that the 2013 shutdown hurt American workers and cost taxpayers more "to close the federal government than to keep it open."

They wrote, "As freshman Members of the House Republican Conference, we were elected by our constituents to be principled, pragmatic leaders. They expect us to fulfill our responsibilities, avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, and live up to our commitment to work every day to help keep the American economy moving forward."

Republican Reps. Mimi Walters (Calif.), Dan Donovan (N.Y.), John Katko (N.Y.), Carlos Curbelo (Fla.), Cresent Hardy (Nev.), Bruce Poliquin (Maine), Martha McSally (Ariz.) and Tom MacArthur (N.J.) signed the letter, as did Del. Amata Radewagen who represents American Samoa.

Legislation

Republicans have introduced a variety of legislation to defund Planned Parenthood and prohibit late-term abortions. Summaries of the legislation appear below.

Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
On January 7, 2015, Reps. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced HR 36 - the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced a related bill, S.1553, on June 11, 2015.

HR 36 proposes prohibiting "an abortion from being performed if the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child is 20 weeks or greater," except when the mother's life is in danger or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. In the case of rape or incest against an adult woman, the woman must receive counseling or medical treatment prior to the abortion. In the case of rape or incest against a minor, the rape or incest must be reported "to a law enforcement agency or a government agency legally authorized to act on reports of child abuse" prior to the abortion. In the case of an abortion where the child is born alive, the healthcare practitioner must "humanely exercise the same professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as would be exercised for a child born alive at the same gestational age in the course of a natural birth. The child must then be "immediately transported and admitted to a hospital." Anyone "who has knowledge of a failure to comply with these requirements" must "immediately report the failure to an appropriate state or federal law enforcement agency."

The House passed HR 36 on May 13, 2015, by a vote of 242-184.

House vote on HR 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, May 13, 2015
Party	Votes for bill	Votes against bill	Total votes
Democrats	4	180	184
Republicans	238	4	242
Independents	0	0	0
Total Votes	242	184	426

On September 22, 2015, the Senate rejected a motion to proceed to HR 36 - the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act by a vote of 54-42, falling short of the 60 votes needed to proceed.

Senate vote on Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to HR 36, September 22, 2015
Party	Votes for bill	Votes against bill	Total votes
Democrats	3	38	41
Republicans	51	2	53
Independents	0	2	2
Total Votes	54	42	96

Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act
On January 8, 2015, Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) introduced HR 217 - the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act. The legislation proposes prohibiting the Department of Health and Human Services from providing federal funding to an organization that performs abortions. The legislation does not exclude organizations that perform abortions where the pregnancy is the result or rape or incest or if the woman's life is in danger.

To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to audit States to determine if such States used Medicaid funds in violation of the Hyde Amendment and other Federal prohibitions on funding for abortions

On January 28, 2015, Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.) introduced HR 610 - To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to audit States to determine if such States used Medicaid funds in violation of the Hyde Amendment and other Federal prohibitions on funding for abortions, and for other purposes. The bill proposes amending "title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include as an activity under the Medicare Integrity Program an annual audit of payment claims under a state Medicaid plan to determine if any payments for family planning services and supplies violated federal law that restricts the use of funds under Medicaid for abortions."

Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015

"Rep. Black: Planned Parenthood Has Blood On Its Hands," June 21, 2015.

On July 21, 2015, Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) introduced HR 3134 - the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015. Black said:

“

As a nurse, I’ve seen the big-abortion-industry’s shameful tactics with my own eyes. That is why, for two years now, I’ve sponsored the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act to address one of Planned Parenthood’s largest government revenue streams. I continue to urge passage of this legislation, but in light of these latest videos, we must take the fight a step further. For these reasons, I have just introduced the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 - legislation that would enact an immediate moratorium on all federal funding for Planned Parenthood while Congress carries out a full investigation.

”

The legislation proposes prohibiting "for a one-year period, the availability of federal funds for any purpose to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or any of its affiliates or clinics, unless they certify that the affiliates and clinics will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion during such period." During the one-year period, Congress would conduct an investigation of Planned Parenthood's abortion practices and policies. On July 22, 2015, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced S 1836, which is identical legislation.

The House passed HR 3134 by a vote of 241-187 on September 18, 2015.

HR 3134 - Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, September 18, 2015
Party	Votes for bill	Votes against bill	Total votes
Democrats	2	184	186
Republicans	239	3	242
Independents	0	0	0
Total Votes	241	187	428

A bill to prohibit Federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America
On July 24, 2015, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced S 1861 - A bill to prohibit Federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which proposes defunding Planned Parenthood and their affiliates.

On July 28, 2015, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Paul introduced S1881 - A bill to prohibit Federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which also proposes defunding Planned Parenthood. In addition, the bill proposes redirecting Planned Parenthood funding to other organizations specializing in women's healthcare. On August 3, 2015, the Senate voted against proceeding to a vote on the legislation.

Senate vote on a Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S. 1881, August 3, 2015
Party	Votes for bill	Votes against bill	Total votes
Democrats	2	43	45
Republicans	51	1	52
Independents	0	2	2
Total Votes	53	46	99

On July 29, 2015, Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) introduced HR 3301 - To prohibit Federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which proposes the same as S 1861.

End Trafficking of the Terminated Unborn Act of 2015
On July 27, 2015, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) introduced HR 3215 - the End Trafficking of the Terminated Unborn Act of 2015. The bill proposes prohibiting "any person from soliciting or knowingly acquiring, receiving, or accepting a donation of human fetal tissue for any purpose other than disposal of the tissue if the donation affects interstate commerce and the tissue will be or is obtained pursuant to an induced abortion." It also proposes limiting medical research to fetal tissue that has been obtained from a spontaneous abortion or a stillbirth.

A bill to prohibit the provision of Federal funds to an entity that receives compensation for facilitating the donation of fetal tissue derived from an abortion
On August 3, 2015, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced S 1917 - A bill to prohibit the provision of Federal funds to an entity that receives compensation for facilitating the donation of fetal tissue derived from an abortion. The bill proposes prohibiting the federal government from funding organizations that receive "compensation for facilitating the donation of fetal tissue from an abortion," and proposes requiring the Department of Justice to investigate Planned Parenthood's fetal tissue practices.

Women's Health Accountability Act
On September 8, 2015, Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) introduced HR 3443 - the Women's Health Accountability Act. This bill proposes withholding federal funding from Planned Parenthood until Congress reviews a report prepared by the Government Accountability Office that includes "all medical items and services offered in the facilities of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., and its affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, and clinics."

Women's Public Health and Safety Act

On September 11, 2015, Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.) introduced HR 3495 - the Women's Public Health and Safety Act. The bill proposes allowing states to exclude organizations that perform abortions from receiving Medicaid funds. On September 29, 2015, the House approved the bill by a vote of 236-193.

HR 3495 - the Women's Public Health and Safety Act, September 29, 2015
Party	Votes for bill	Votes against bill	Total votes
Democrats	2	184	186
Republicans	234	9	243
Independents	0	0	0
Total Votes	236	193	429

The Protecting Infants Born Alive Act
On September 11, 2015, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced HR 3494 - the Protecting Infants Born Alive Act, which proposes providing "greater clarity for States with respect to excluding providers whose actions a State suspects causes termination of fetuses born alive." The bill proposes restricting funding to healthcare providers who have "terminated a human fetus who would be classified as an infant that is born alive under section 8 of title 1, United States Code."

Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
On September 15, 2015, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) introduced HR 3504 - the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. The bill proposes requiring "any health care practitioner who is present when a child is born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion to: (1) exercise the same degree of care as reasonably provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure that such child is immediately admitted to a hospital." It also proposes making it a crime to violate the provisions of the act and prosecuting for murder any individual who "commits an overt act that kills a child born alive."

The House passed HR 3505 by a vote of 248-177 on September 18, 2015.

HR 3505 - Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, September 18, 2015
Party	Votes for bill	Votes against bill	Total votes
Democrats	5	177	182
Republicans	243	0	243
Independents	0	0	0
Total Votes	248	177	425

Public opinion polls

According to a September 2015 CNN/ORC International poll, 71 percent of those polled said approving a budget agreement that would avoid a government shutdown was the most important issue for Congress to work on, while 22 percent said eliminating all federal funding for Planned Parenthood was the most important. The same poll revealed that 54 percent of those polled think that abortion should be legal under only certain circumstances.

According to a July 2015 poll conducted by Hart Research Associates, when asked whether Planned Parenthood or the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) was more believable in the controversy surrounding the videos released by CMP, "52% say they would be more likely to believe Planned Parenthood, only 25% say they would be more likely to believe CMP, 11% volunteer they would not believe either, and 12% are not sure."

"Do you think abortion should be legal under any circumstances, legal under only certain circumstances, or illegal in all circumstances?"
Poll	Legal under any circumstances	Legal under certain circumstances	Illegal in all circumstances	No opinion	Margin of Error	Sample Size
CNN/ORC International September 4 - 8, 2015	26%	54%	18%	1%	+/-3	1,012
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

"On a regular basis, Congress must pass bills that authorize the federal government to spend money for a certain amount of time. When that time expires, the government must shut down until Congress passes a new spending bill. Which do think is more important for Congress to do?"
Poll	Approving a budget agreement that would avoid a gov't shutdown	Eliminating all federal funding for Planned Parenthood	Both equal (vol.)	No opinion	Margin of Error	Sample Size
CNN/ORC International September 4 - 8, 2015	71%	22%	5%	2%	+/-3	1,012
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

"Some Republicans in Congress say that because of the undercover videos released by the Center for Medical Progress, there should be an immediate vote to end all government funding for Planned Parenthood, including for services Planned Parenthood provides, such as cancer screenings and family planning. Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree with the Republicans who say Congress should vote immediately vote to end all government funding for Planned Parenthood, including for services Planned Parenthood provides, such as cancer screenings and family planning?"
Poll	Agree with Republicans	Disagree with Republicans	Not sure	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Hart Research Associates July 23-26, 2015	30%	64%	6%	+/-3.5	800
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

See also

• 2016 presidential candidates on defunding Planned Parenthood
• United States budget debate, 2013
• Planned Parenthood Votes

External links

• House Investigation into Planned Parenthood

• Planned Parenthood/ Fusion GPS, "Analysis of Center for Medical Progress Videos"

• The Center for Medical Progress, "Human Capital" series

• The Center for Medical Progress, "Investigative Footage"