U.S. Senate to vote on Planned Parenthood funding

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is planning to hold a vote on legislation in coming days on a Republican bill halting federal funding of Planned Parenthood, following the release of videos involving use of aborted fetal tissue for medical research.

“The leader is working with his members to address this horrific issue and intends to have a vote before we leave” for a five-week summer recess, said McConnell spokesman Michael Brumas.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has introduced legislation to prohibit any federal funds to Planned Parenthood.

The nonprofit group has come under scrutiny since the release of two secretly recorded videos earlier this month showing its officials discussing ways to perform abortions to preserve fetal tissue for research, as well as the costs involved. The release of the videos sparked outrage among many Republicans, who control both the Senate and House of Representatives, with two House panels initiating investigations.

Last week, Georgia’s U.S. senators, Johnny Isakson and David Perdue, signed onto a letter led by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, to U.S. health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, calling on the secretary to cooperate with ongoing and future investigations into legal, ethical and policy questions raised by the video.

“The government should not be in the practice of funding Planned Parenthood or any abortions in the first place, and in 2012, I voted to end all taxpayer funding to this organization,” Isakson said. “This video is incredibly disturbing and I applaud the steps taken by the state of Georgia to ensure this abhorrent practice is not occurring in our state.”

Gov. Nathan Deal has ordered the Department of Community Health and the Department of Public Health to review of the practies of the five clinics that Planned Parenthood operates in Georgia. Attorney General Sam Olens has said his office was ready to assist in the investigations.

Perdue said, “These videos of senior Planned Parenthood officials are incredibly disturbing and Planned Parenthood, or anyone involved in such reprehensible behavior, should be held accountable.

“I expect the Department of Health and Human Services and Planned Parenthood to fully cooperate with all ensuing investigations, including Georgia’s joint review of clinics in our state. I am proudly pro-life and will continue to support legislation, like the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, that protects unborn babies and preserves life.”

In the letter, the 48 senators who signed it ask Burwell to conduct “a thorough internal review of the compliance of the Department and Planned Parenthood — one of the Department’s grantees — with all relevant and applicable federal statutes, regulations, and other requirements.”

“The footage raises a number of questions about the practices of the organization, including whether they are in compliance with federal laws regulating both the use of fetal tissue and partial-birth abortions,” the senators wrote. “In addition to questions about Planned Parenthood’s compliance with applicable federal law and medical ethics, we believe the footage prompts important policy questions surrounding the issue of abortions permitted so late in a pregnancy – sometimes even later than five months – that an unborn baby’s organs can be identified and harvested.”

Some Democrats have requested investigations into the anti-abortion group, Center for Medical Progress, which secretly recorded conversations of Planned Parenthood officials talking about ways to perform abortions to preserve fetal tissue for research.

Planned Parenthood says a small portion of its overall activities are devoted to abortions with other activities including family planning and health and nutrition services for women. Planned Parenthood said on Monday it is looking into reports that the women’s healthcare provider’s website was hacked by anti-abortion activists as it faces criticism for its use of aborted fetal tissue.

Information from The Albany Herald and Reuters News Service was used in this report.