‘Foolish and Mean-Spirited’: US House Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood
(COMMON DREAMS) Deirdre Fulton — Both measures are opposed by women’s health organizations, the White House (pdf), and a majority of the American public. President Barack Obama has vowed to veto the bills if they reach his desk, saying they would “disproportionately impact low-income individuals” and “likely have a chilling effect, reducing access to care,” respectively.
In advance of the votes, Planned Parenthood circulated a memo urging lawmakers to vote against the bills. “The ultimate goal of anti-abortion extremists in Congress is to promote their political agenda of banning safe, legal abortion in this country,” the memo read.
Attributed to Dana Singiser, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) vice president for government relations and public policy, and Jacqueline Ayers, PPFA’s legislative director, the memo (pdf) called the Defund Planned Parenthood bill “a politically motivated attempt to limit access to critical healthcare for millions of women, men and young people” that would “shatter the country’s public health safety net and jeopardize women’s health.