Faced with Defunding Threat from Senate, Planned Parenthood Fights Back

As Planned Parenthood grapples with a series of attacks against it by anti-choice forces, the political stakes are intensifying as the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate readies to vote on a measure that would strip all federal funding from the non-profit women’s health organization.

Three covertly-filmed videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal tissue donations have prompted some in Congress to renew the debate over the government’s financial support of the organization. Senate Republicans are gearing up to vote on a bill that would cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood, which already receives limited subsidies from the government and is prohibited from spending taxpayer money on abortions.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and introduced on Tuesday, states: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no federal funds may be made available to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, or any of its affiliates.”

One GOP senator who was familiar with the bill said that under the new legislation, funds would be redirected to “other groups that deal with women’s health,” CNN reports.

It is unclear whether the bill would pick up enough Democratic support to surpass the necessary 60 votes. Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.) both criticized the bill, according to CNN.

“Look, the bottom line is, Planned Parenthood does a great job protecting women’s health,” Schumer said. “And I think, if you look at the polling data, the American people are overwhelmingly in favor of allowing Planned Parenthood to continue funding women’s health.”

The House of Representatives appears unlikely to vote on defunding Planned Parenthood before the August recess despite mounting pressure on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). And President Barack Obama would almost certainly veto any such bill, although more details on the legislation are expected to emerge this week.