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Senate Votes Down Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood

  • Carrie Dedrick Religious persecution, missions, Christianity around the world
  • Updated Aug 04, 2015

The US Senate voted down a bill to defund Planned Parenthood yesterday in a 53-46 vote. Fox News reports the legislation came in response to four leaked videos that appeared to show Planned Parenthood doctors and officials discussing the sale of aborted fetal organs. 

Planned Parenthood receives over $500 million in federal funding, according to Christian Today. The abortion provider includes approximately 700 clinics and sees 2.7 million each year. 

Republican senators argued that many Americans do not wish to support the controversial company through tax dollars. 

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, also voted to defund the company, explaining that he found the videos a cause for concern. 

“I am very troubled by the callous behavior of Planned Parenthood staff in (the) recently released videos, which casually discuss the sale, possibly for profit, of fetal tissue after an abortion. Until these allegations have been answered and resolved, I do not believe that taxpayer money should be used to fund this organization,” Manchin said before the vote. 

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa agreed.

"The American taxpayer should not be asked to fund an organization like Planned Parenthood that has shown a sheer disdain for human dignity and complete disregard for women and their babies,” Ernst said. 

Republicans still plan to launch a full investigation of the abortion provider. In the long term, they hope that the further evidence will prove that Planned Parenthood has been involved with illegal activity, making it harder for Democrats to come to the company’s defense. 

Publication date: August 4, 2015