The House Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood

The passing of a new bill could take away birth control access and preventative health care to almost 400,000 low-income women.

The bill, meant to replace the Affordable Care Act would prevent Medicaid from reimbursing Planned Parenthood for preventative health services.

Almost 60 percent of Planned Parenthood's 2.5 million patients rely on public assistance for their healthcare.

The plan was passed Thursday with a narrow 217-213 victory.

It will move to the Senate where it can be amended, sent to a conference committee and another House vote. 

If it then gets passed onto President Trump's desk, Planned Parenthood will immediately lose funding for a year.

Seventy-five percent of Americans say the federal government should continue to fund the health provider.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says there are enough federally funded qualified community health centers.

“For every Planned Parenthood, there are 20 federal community health centers...they’re vastly bigger in network, there are so many more of them, and they provide these kinds of services without all of the controversy surrounding this [abortion] issue.”

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards says this bill is the worst thing to happen to women's health in generations.

“I hope that both people in this administration and members of Congress will begin to pay attention to 51 percent of the population of America, who are desperately concerned about their future...it is enormously frustrating to have primarily rooms full of men making policy decisions and voting on issues which they will never be impacted directly themselves, and have millions of women in this country who are not being represented.” 


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