Three days ago, when the conservative/liberty wing of the Senate Republican Caucus attempted a measure to defund Planned Parenthood, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s response was, “Nope. Not going to happen.” And, shockingly, a majority of Senate Republicans agreed.
Public response was, well … predictable.
Then a key McConnell ally, Sen. Rand Paul, announced he would continue the effort to force through a bill to defund Planned Parenthood. Now, suddenly, the Senate leadership has changed its tune. McConnell named a working group, and Paul introduced legislation to defund Planned Parenthood with 21 co-sponsors, including U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA).
The bill number for the legislation is S. 1881. The bill follows three videos — and the promise of more to come — that depict Planned Parenthood’s harvesting of organs, tissue, and body parts from unborn, aborted, babies. Funds no longer available to Planned Parenthood will continue to be offered to other eligible entities to provide women’s health care services.
In addition to defunding Planned Parenthood, S. 1881 ensures the preservation of Federal funding for women’s health services including relevant diagnostic laboratory and radiology services, well-child care, prenatal and postpartum care, immunization, family planning services including contraception, sexually transmitted disease testing, cervical and breast cancer screenings, and referrals.
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