WASHINGTON — The House voted Friday to block Planned Parenthood’s federal funds for a year, as Republican leaders tried to keep GOP outrage over abortion from spiraling into an impasse with President Barack Obama that could shut down the government.
The House voted 241-187 for the legislation, with just three Republicans and two Democrats defecting from their party lines. The measure stands little chance of enactment, since Senate Democrats have enough votes to block it and for good measure the White House has promised a veto.
Yet Republicans are forging ahead, sparked by secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing how they take tissue from aborted fetuses for medical research.
Those videos have helped mushroom the longtime political fight over abortion into a prominent issue for next year’s elections. They’ve also refueled Congress’ emotional clashes on the subject, with Friday’s debate featuring a poster-sized photo of a scarred, aborted fetus and accusations from each side that the other was simply trying to drum up campaign donations.
The bill by Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., would shift Planned Parenthood’s federal payments to the thousands of government-backed community health centers, which Republicans said would treat the group’s displaced patients. Most of the organization’s $450 million yearly in federal money — a third of its overall budget — comes from Medicaid reimbursements for treating low-income clients, and virtually none of it can be used for abortions.
Democrats said other clinics are overburdened and often distant from women who need them. They said the true GOP goal was to whip up conservative voters with bills that would result in diminished health care for women. “Some of their members are willing to risk women’s lives just to score political points,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. “Enough is enough.”
Abortion opponents say the tapes show Planned Parenthood illegally profited from tissue sales for research. Planned Parenthood says it’s acted legally and says the tapes were edited deceptively.
Party leaders want to avoid entwining the GOP effort to halt Planned Parenthood’s money with must-pass legislation needed to keep government agencies from closing.
The fight over abortion touches an emotional hot spot among each side’s most loyal partisans and could be pivotal as each party seeks female voters.
The Planned Parenthood issue has been partly fueled by the race for the GOP’s presidential nomination. Several candidates used their Wednesday night debate to urge lawmakers to block the funding.
