More than 70 anti-abortion groups want congressional Republicans to introduce a new bill that defunds Planned Parenthood after a similar effort included in an Obamacare repeal bill died.
The demand from 77 national and state groups comes as the GOP tries to figure out how to proceed on repealing the Affordable Care Act. A bill that would have partially repealed the law and defunded the women’s health and abortion provider was pulled last Friday because of insufficient support from moderates and conservatives.
The bill, called the American Health Care Act, would have stopped Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood clinics for one year. It was designed to comply with a Senate budget tool called reconciliation that enables a bill to be approved via a 51-vote majority rather than 60 to break a filibuster.
Now anti-abortion groups want Congress to create a new reconciliation bill that defunds Planned Parenthood, which receives about $500 million annually in federal funds. Under the law, federal funds cannot be spent on abortions.
“For years promises have been made, and the time has come to deliver,” the groups said in a letter to GOP leadership.
The groups, which include the Susan B. Anthony List and the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, want a new reconciliation bill passed before the two-week Easter recess starts on April 6.
“Reconciliation language to do this already cleared procedural hurdles in the last Congress,” the letter said. “Moreover, Congress has the votes to get it done now, and President Trump has promised his signature.”
But while such a bill could easily clear the House, passage in the Senate would be difficult.
Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, oppose Planned Parenthood defunding. The GOP can afford to lose only two senators, as Vice President Mike Pence can cast the deciding vote.
That means that Democrats would need to peel off only one more senator to kill any new defunding bill.
