Abortion opponents are heaving a sigh of relief that an Obamacare repeal bill will keep a provision defunding Planned Parenthood, but the legislation’s future remains uncertain as Republicans try to muster enough votes for it.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday the bill will remain as is and will get a vote following next week’s Thanksgiving recess, after some Republican senators had suggested the measure might be stripped of the Planned Parenthood language to win enough votes for passage.
“We are confident that the Obamacare repeal bill will include a defund Planned Parenthood [provision] and we’ll be moving to that legislation after Thanksgiving,” the Kentucky Republican said.
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The bill, which requires just 51 votes under special budget reconciliation rules, defunds parts of President Obama’s healthcare law and would block about 90 percent of federal funds to Planned Parenthood. Both are major GOP goals, as Republicans seek to keep their opposition to Obamacare and to the women’s health and abortion provider in the forefront before a presidential election year.
But the bill has prompted a battle between conservatives who insist it should repeal all of Obamacare and those who say it’s good enough as is.
In trying to convince Republicans to oppose it, Heritage Action is butting up against leading anti-abortion groups, who view the legislation as their best chance in decades of confronting a Democratic president with a bill defunding the country’s largest abortion provider.
Anti-abortion activists say over the next few weeks they will be fiercely lobbying presidential candidates Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida as well as Mike Lee of Utah, all of whom have indicated they may follow Heritage’s urging and oppose the bill.
“The three amigos are going to have to vote for the bill because this is one of the most important pro-life votes of all time,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List. “To fail to vote for this would be a disaster.”
One senator they don’t need to worry about is Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who also is seeking the presidential nomination. “Sen. Paul will continue to support repealing Obamacare and defunding Planned Parenthood,” spokeswoman Jillian Lane told the Washington Examiner.
But if the bill lost the votes of Cruz, Rubio and Lee, it would be in a tenuous position, since it’s far from certain whether a handful of Republicans supporting abortion rights will vote for a measure stripping most federal funds from Planned Parenthood.
Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted for similar defunding legislation over the summer, but they haven’t said where they stand on the reconciliation bill. Republicans have just 54 members in the Senate, so they can afford for only three members to defect.
“We’re guardedly optimistic because we had that predicate vote in August on very, very similar language,” said Doug Johnson, chief lobbyist for the National Right to Life Committee.
“We will be lobbying them until the very last minute,” Dannenfelser said.
President Obama is certain to veto the bill should it land on his desk. But to conservatives, especially those who have been trying to undermine Planned Parenthood for years, simply forcing him into a veto would give them important political capital.
“It is the highest point of clarity you can find in the political arena at this point,” Dannenfelser said. “When it cuts to the presidential level, it shows there’s a point of contrast that is bright.”
Susan Ferrechio contributed to this report.
