Anti-abortion groups cheered when language defunding Planned Parenthood made it into the Senate’s draft healthcare bill, but now they’re worried that language will get kicked out.
Anti-abortion groups Susan B. Anthony List and Family Research Council issued a joint statement Friday saying they are “very concerned that either of these priorities could be removed from the bill for procedural or political reasons.”
The groups are right to be worried about language that would defund Planned Parenthood for a year, and prevent tax credits from being used to fund abortions. Key centrist votes Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, both said they don’t support defunding Planned Parenthood on Thursday, and every Republican vote is critical.
Republicans have a slim 52-48 majority to work with, and can only afford to lose two votes if they bill is going to pass in the Senate.
The tax credit restriction could also fall for procedural reasons. Republicans are using a pathway called reconciliation to approve healthcare reform with only 51 votes, to bypass objections from Democrats. But to use reconciliation, a bill must reduce the deficit and only focus on certain parts such as budgetary and spending levels.
The Senate parliamentarian will eventually rule on whether the tax credits can include restrictions similar to the Hyde Amendment, a spending rider that prevents federal funding from going towards abortions.
Several senators said that they believe the parliamentarian will find the tax credit restriction violates reconciliation rules and will have to be cut.
The two anti-abortion groups are in talks with the Senate to “prevent this from happening as it could result in our opposition,” the statement said. “We are confident that the pro-life Senate will ultimately move forward with our pro-life priorities intact,” the groups said.
