An uphill battle

Richard A. Sokerka

In a vote on Sept. 20, members of the U. S. House of Representatives voted to freeze funding for Planned Parenthood for one year. The vote followed political debate surrounding information revealed in a series of undercover videos about Planned Parenthood.

Rep. Diane Black (R.-Tenn.), sponsor of the bill, said that the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 (H.R. 3134) will redistribute more than $235 million saved from funding the organization to more than 13,500 health care clinics around the country.

But the work of the House of is not done in regard to Planned Parenthood. Legislators will continue their investigation into allegations that the abortion provider has broken federal laws banning the profit from human body parts harvested during abortions, changes in abortion procedures in order to harvest body parts, the use of illegal “partial birth abortion” techniques to harvest body parts, and the refusal of medical care to infants who survive abortion attempts.

The vote and the investigation was initiated following a string of undercover videos by the Center for Medical Progress showing Planned Parenthood officials suggesting that some victims of abortion are born alive at Planned Parenthood clinics, and a former technician recounting an incident where organs were harvested from an aborted baby whose heart was still beating.

The House also passed 248-177 H.R. 3504, which would add the criminal penalty of first-degree murder to the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, a law which ensures that babies who survive failed abortion attempts receive adequate healthcare care and protection.

While both bills passed the House, they are not expected to pass the Democratic-led Senate or to be signed into law by president.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the most prolific pro-life voice in Congress, knows the difficult road the bills passed by the House now face if they make it to the president’s desk. “Tragically, President Obama — the abortion president — has vowed to veto this pro-child, human rights legislation, a position that is extreme, anti-child, inhumane and indefensible.”