USA: Vote to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding

21.02.2011 Republicans have voted to cut money for contraceptives, HIV tests, cancer screenings and reproductive health services as part of an attempt to weaken the abortion provider, the Huffington Post reports.

The vote, which passed, 240 to 185, came after an emotional, late-night speech by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), who revealed on the House of Representatives floor that she had had an abortion. Speier criticised Republicans for vilifying Planned Parenthood and abortion-rights supporters.

“There is a vendetta against Planned Parenthood, and it was played out in this room tonight,” she said on the House floor. “Planned Parenthood has a right to operate. Planned Parenthood has a right to provide family planning services. Planned Parenthood has a right to perform abortions. Last time you checked, abortions were legal in this country.”

Republicans argued that the amendment, which was introduced by Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), was necessary to prevent taxpayer money from funding abortions at Planned Parenthood. But the organization is already prohibited from using the money it receives under Title X, which funds reproductive health services, to perform abortions.

Planned Parenthood was a major recipient of Title X funding last year, when the organization estimated it received a quarter of the $317 million appropriated for Title X. The the organization also performs one-quarter of reported abortions in the United States last year, some of which Pence claims were funded through non-Title X funding.

“Nobody is saying Planned Parenthood can’t be the leading advocate of abortion on demand, but why do I have to pay for it?” Pence said, adding that he hopes Roe v. Wade is eventually overturned. More >>