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| GOP leaders work to defuse Planned Parenthood showdown as clock ticks | GOP leaders work to defuse Planned Parenthood showdown as clock ticks |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Congress is running out of time to agree on a spending plan that keeps the government open, as Republican leaders attempt to defuse the threat of another shutdown – this one over Planned Parenthood. | Congress is running out of time to agree on a spending plan that keeps the government open, as Republican leaders attempt to defuse the threat of another shutdown – this one over Planned Parenthood. |
| Dozens of conservatives in the House and Senate have already pledged not to vote for a spending bill that includes money for Planned Parenthood. But both House speaker John Boehner and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell have rejected such proposals, worried that moderate and independent voters may blame the Republican party for a government shutdown. | Dozens of conservatives in the House and Senate have already pledged not to vote for a spending bill that includes money for Planned Parenthood. But both House speaker John Boehner and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell have rejected such proposals, worried that moderate and independent voters may blame the Republican party for a government shutdown. |
| Republican leadership is seeking to decouple the effort to defund Planned Parenthood from the spending bill, which must be passed by the end of the month or risk a second shutdown in two years. In an effort to pacify the conservative caucus, House Republicans are expected to vote later this week on two abortion-related bills. | Republican leadership is seeking to decouple the effort to defund Planned Parenthood from the spending bill, which must be passed by the end of the month or risk a second shutdown in two years. In an effort to pacify the conservative caucus, House Republicans are expected to vote later this week on two abortion-related bills. |
| Related: Planned Parenthood hearing launches House Republicans' defunding effort | Related: Planned Parenthood hearing launches House Republicans' defunding effort |
| But it remains an open question whether the party’s most conservative members will stage a revolt against a spending bill that includes money for Planned Parenthood. | But it remains an open question whether the party’s most conservative members will stage a revolt against a spending bill that includes money for Planned Parenthood. |
| McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, has warned that linking the two is an “exercise in futility” as any spending bill that strips funding from Planned Parenthood would be met with a presidential veto. | McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, has warned that linking the two is an “exercise in futility” as any spending bill that strips funding from Planned Parenthood would be met with a presidential veto. |
| “Shutting down the government, it doesn’t defund Planned Parenthood any more than shutting down the government two years ago would have defunded Obamacare,” McConnell told Politico in an interview last week, referring to the 2013 government shutdown. | “Shutting down the government, it doesn’t defund Planned Parenthood any more than shutting down the government two years ago would have defunded Obamacare,” McConnell told Politico in an interview last week, referring to the 2013 government shutdown. |
| One bill expected to go to a vote in the House to appease conservatives would strip federal funds from any Planned Parenthood affiliate that provides abortion services to women. The second would add criminal penalties on healthcare providers who fail to provide medical care to a baby that survives an abortion attempt. | One bill expected to go to a vote in the House to appease conservatives would strip federal funds from any Planned Parenthood affiliate that provides abortion services to women. The second would add criminal penalties on healthcare providers who fail to provide medical care to a baby that survives an abortion attempt. |
| “Now that the false claims against Planned Parenthood have fallen apart, politicians are heartlessly scrambling to attack women’s access to health care however they can. It’s clear those behind these attacks have always had a clear agenda: to ban abortion, and cut millions of women and men across the country from necessary reproductive health care,” the organization said in response to the House votes. “They’re continuing to push that agenda no matter how many they hurt in the process.” | “Now that the false claims against Planned Parenthood have fallen apart, politicians are heartlessly scrambling to attack women’s access to health care however they can. It’s clear those behind these attacks have always had a clear agenda: to ban abortion, and cut millions of women and men across the country from necessary reproductive health care,” the organization said in response to the House votes. “They’re continuing to push that agenda no matter how many they hurt in the process.” |
| Neither bill stands much of a chance in the Senate, where it has been reported that McConnell is considering scheduling a vote on a 20-week abortion ban as a way to placate the conservative caucus. | Neither bill stands much of a chance in the Senate, where it has been reported that McConnell is considering scheduling a vote on a 20-week abortion ban as a way to placate the conservative caucus. |
| Planned Parenthood has come under fire for a series of undercover videos released earlier this summer that showed employees discussing fetal tissue donation. The group behind the heavily edited videos has alleged Planned Parenthood illegally profited from the sale of fetal tissue, a claim that the organization vehemently denies and which multiple investigations could not substantiate. Yet the videos riled conservatives and triggered congressional investigations. The group released yet another video Tuesday with footage of comments by Planned Parenthood staff. | |
| Planned Parenthood offers a range of reproductive health services, but Republicans are obsessed with only one: abortion. | Planned Parenthood offers a range of reproductive health services, but Republicans are obsessed with only one: abortion. |
| Even so, pulling federal funding from Planned Parenthood would not necessarily stop the organization from providing women with abortions, which represent just a small fraction - 3% - of the services it provides to women nationwide. | Even so, pulling federal funding from Planned Parenthood would not necessarily stop the organization from providing women with abortions, which represent just a small fraction - 3% - of the services it provides to women nationwide. |
| Planned Parenthood receives about $500m per year in government funding, mostly through Medicaid and grants, and none of which can be used to provide abortion services. Rather, the funds mostly go toward subsidizing cancer screenings, contraceptives and other women’s health and family planning services. | Planned Parenthood receives about $500m per year in government funding, mostly through Medicaid and grants, and none of which can be used to provide abortion services. Rather, the funds mostly go toward subsidizing cancer screenings, contraceptives and other women’s health and family planning services. |
| National polling has found that defunding the organization would be unpopular, and a government shutdown over it even more so. | National polling has found that defunding the organization would be unpopular, and a government shutdown over it even more so. |
| A CNN/ORC poll poll released on Monday found that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe it is more important for Congress to approve a spending bill and avoid a shutdown, compared with Americans who believe it’s more important for Congress to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood at any cost. | A CNN/ORC poll poll released on Monday found that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe it is more important for Congress to approve a spending bill and avoid a shutdown, compared with Americans who believe it’s more important for Congress to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood at any cost. |
| Among Republican presidential contenders, Texas senator Ted Cruz has pushed a plan that could trigger a government shutdown. And Kentucky senator Rand Paul has said he would defund Planned Parenthood “at all costs” but stopped short of saying he’d shut down the government in the process. | Among Republican presidential contenders, Texas senator Ted Cruz has pushed a plan that could trigger a government shutdown. And Kentucky senator Rand Paul has said he would defund Planned Parenthood “at all costs” but stopped short of saying he’d shut down the government in the process. |
| Ohio governor and Republican candidate John Kasich, by contrast, agreed with Republican leaders that shutting down the government was futile, because when it reopened, the organization would resume receiving its funds. | Ohio governor and Republican candidate John Kasich, by contrast, agreed with Republican leaders that shutting down the government was futile, because when it reopened, the organization would resume receiving its funds. |
| “Well, if you shut down the government, the question is, will you defund (Planned Parenthood)? I think the answer is no,” Kasich said during a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Sunday. | “Well, if you shut down the government, the question is, will you defund (Planned Parenthood)? I think the answer is no,” Kasich said during a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Sunday. |
| He added: “The American people will say: ‘What are you doing?’” | He added: “The American people will say: ‘What are you doing?’” |