In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) introduced this resolution overturning the Obama administration’s rule blocking states from defunding abortion providers along with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who introduced companion legislation in the Senate. In a joint op-ed in the Washington Examiner, Black and Ernst condemned the Obama administration’s “final parting gift to Planned Parenthood” and added:
“State legislatures around the country have spoken out about their preference for prioritizing more comprehensive primary and preventative care for the receipt of Title X funding, and their voice should be respected by bureaucrats in the federal government… According to its 2014-2015 annual report, Planned Parenthood performed 323,999 abortion procedures in just one year. Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the abortion industry in this country. Nor should they be forced to foot the bill for an organization like Planned Parenthood that has displayed such blatant disregard for human life.”
The Los Angeles Times editorial board wrote an op-ed calling on the Trump administration to not overturn the Obama administration’s regulation. They fear that overturning it could force states to opt to “forgo federal planning dollars, to the detriment of the health clinics that millions of lower-income people have come to rely on for basic healthcare.” The editorial board said that “lawmakers shouldn’t hold women’s health services hostage to their crusade against abortion, which women have a legal right to seek. The HHS rule will help more lower-income women get the reproductive-health and screening services they need.”
This legislation has the support of 146 cosponsors in the House, including 145 Republicans and one Democrat.
Of Note: 10 states prohibit organizations from receiving family planning funds — seven block funding to abortion providers or groups affiliated with abortion providers, while three block all private organizations.
Media:
Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Fibonacci Blue / Creative Commons)