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Planned Parenthood Faces Congressional Scrutiny

In the wake of fall-out from an undercover video investigation linking the nation’s largest abortion provider to the harvesting and sale of organs from aborted babies, North Carolina’s U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R) and Thom Tillis (R) are co-sponsoring legislation to end federal funding of Planned Parenthood. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Rand Paul (R-KY), and James Lankford (R-OK) are the lead sponsors of S.1881, which currently has 21 cosponsors and was announced during a July 29 press conference hosted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who said the Senate would vote in August on a bill to defund Planned Parenthood.

According to Sen. Ernst’s office, S.1881:

  • “Prohibits federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America or any of its affiliate organizations.
  • Protects federal funding for health services for women, including diagnostic laboratory and radiology services, well-child care, prenatal and postnatal care, immunizations, cervical and breast cancer screenings and more.
  • Ensures there is no reduction in overall federal funding available to support women’s health.”

During Wednesday’s press conference, the senators co-sponsoring S.1881 repeatedly cited the investigative videos released by the Center for Medical Progress that show various Planned Parenthood executives negotiating the price of organs harvested from aborted babies. The latest video, released July 28, contains gruesome footage of a technician picking through the remains of an aborted baby while a Planned Parenthood doctor discusses pricing.

“The horrendous videos of senior executives from Planned Parenthood discussing in callous tones and shocking detail their role in a national scandal requires a congressional response,” Sen. McConnell said. “Our constituents demand it; the unborn deserve it. This legislation would ensure taxpayer dollars for women’s health are actually spent on women’s health—not a scandal-plagued political lobbying giant.”

The Hill reports that the measure to defund Planned Parenthood could be considered on the Senate floor as early as this Monday night, August 3. In addition to legislation to defund Planned Parenthood, members of Congress and lawmakers in 10 states have launched investigations into the abortion giant’s involvement in the sale of organs harvested from aborted babies.

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