Planned Parenthood on the ropes as Republicans move in for knockout punch

Washington Times:

A unified Republican government is poised to slash hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars from Planned Parenthood’s annual budget — the culmination of a public relations nightmare 18 months in the making that has left the nation’s largest abortion provider more vulnerable than ever to pro-life advances.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, said Thursday that the budget reconciliation legislation to repeal Obamacare will include a provision to remove Planned Parenthood from the taxpayer dole.

Mr. Ryan issued his statement one day after a House committee released a 418-page report detailing Planned Parenthood’s complicity in the illicit sale of body parts from abortions for profit.

Meanwhile, several Republican-led states are preparing to restrict abortions. Kentucky lawmakers last week passed legislation to ban abortions 20 weeks after conception, when the fetus is believed to be able to feel pain. Other states, including Virginia, plan to introduce similar bills this year, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, signed such a bill into law last month.

Clarke Forsythe, acting president of Americans United for Life, said Planned Parenthood has never been in more danger of losing its taxpayer-funded status in the nearly half-century that it has performed abortions.
“I can’t remember any time in the past 44 years, since Roe v. Wade, that Planned Parenthood has been as vulnerable to state and federal funding cuts as now,” Mr. Forsythe said.

The reconciliation process allows legislation to bypass a Senate filibuster and pass by a simple majority vote. The fast-track bill could come up for a vote as early as next month.

The case for defunding Planned Parenthood was bolstered last week when the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives released its final report. It recommended that Congress redirect Planned Parenthood’s more than $500 million in annual funding toward women’s health clinics that do not perform abortions.

“The Panel recommends Planned Parenthood lose all federal funding, including reimbursements for Medicaid services,” the report concluded. “Further, grants no longer available to Planned Parenthood should be awarded to healthcare providers that provide comprehensive preventative healthcare for their patients and that do not perform abortions.”

The panel was established 15 months ago to investigate Planned Parenthood and others in the market for fetal tissue from abortions. It reported that it found evidence of wrongdoing by several Planned Parenthood affiliates.

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