Planned Parenthood rejects funding rules to keep abortion services, critics and supporters respond

Planned Parenthood rejected Monday a proposal by President Trump that would have pledged his support for federal funding for the women’s health organization if it ceased providing abortion services. White House officials recently floated the idea over the $500 million annually in federal funds.

“As I said throughout the campaign, I am pro-life and I am deeply committed to investing in women’s health and plan to significantly increase federal funding in support of non-abortion services such as cancer screenings,” Trump said in a statement. “There is an opportunity for organizations to continue the important work they do in support of women’s health, while not providing abortion services.”

Planned Parenthood supporters at protest 2011 photo/S. MiRK via wikimedia commons

“Planned Parenthood is proud to provide abortion — a necessary service that’s as vital to our mission as birth control or cancer screenings,” Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards tweeted in response to the proposal.

“The White House proposal that Planned Parenthood stop providing abortion is the same demand opponents of women’s health have been pushing for decades, as a part of their longstanding effort to end women’s access to safe, legal abortion,” Richards said in a statement provided by Planned Parenthood.

Richards added that her organization is “glad that the White House understands that taking away the preventive care Planned Parenthood provides is deeply unpopular and would be a disaster for women’s health care.”

The new GOP Obamacare plan eliminate the funding for the abortion outlet.

“Action to defund Planned Parenthood is long overdue and I, along with thousands of other Americans who rallied outside of Planned Parenthood facilities across the nation last month, applaud this measure. No woman should have to go to an abortion clinic to get basic health care services. It’s always been ironic that this abortion giant uses the word ‘parenthood’ in its name, despite offering virtually no prenatal care. The fact that Planned Parenthood and performs 34% of all the abortions in our country every year but less than 1% of pap tests shows what their real priorities are, and should disqualify them from receiving government health care funding. Our tax dollars should go to facilities that focus on legitimate health care, not abortion,” stated Eric Scheidler, national organizer of #ProtestPP and Executive Director of the Pro-Life Action League to the bill outline.

Both pro-life and pro-choice supporters turned out in Saint Paul, Minnesota to support and oppose Planned Parenthood. 2012 photo Fibonacci Blue

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Butter Bracco - Roxanne "Butter" Bracco began with the Dispatch as Pittsburgh Correspondent, but will be providing reports and insights from Washington DC, Maryland and the surrounding region. Contact Roxie aka "Butter" at [email protected] ATTN: Roxie or Butter Bracco