After a video of alleged price haggling for fetal body parts was released earlier this month, Planned Parenthood is a hot subject among protesters of anti-abortion and pro-choice in the hope that the U.S. congress will defund the said organization off of its annual $500-million federal funding.
The issue began when Senior Director of Planned Parenthood, Deborah Nucatola, was caught on camera admitting to allegedly selling fetal body parts, as Parent Herald previously reported. With this, several demonstrators have come to protest with a banner #WomenBetrayed and calling out to defund the said organization, CBN News reports.
"There's no reason for Planned Parenthood to get any federal money, and basically the things they're doing are unacceptable to a vast majority of people prolife or pro-choice," Rep. Rand Paul, R-Ky told CBN News.
However, according to YouGov, a poll from 800 respondents showed that 52 percent of the Americans voted out not to defund Planned Parenthood, in favor of allowing the family planning organization to still claim its annual federal funding.
This came out after a third video footage released by the Center for Medical Progress was seen to be "heavily edited." "The folks behind this, in fact, are part of the most militant wing of the anti-abortion movement that has been behind, you know, the bombing of clinics, the murder of doctors in their homes, and in their churches. And that's what actually needs to be looked at," Planned Parenthood President Cicile Richards said in an interview with CBN News.
Huffington Post also writes that only a quarter believes on the video footages released by the anti-abortion group while more than half is favored on Planned Parenthood.
With this, a majority of the women testified to have come to Planned Parenthood for health care, contraception assistance, treatment and testing for sexually transmitted disease and other non-abortion services.
As Reuters writes, Dawn Laguens, a Planned Parenthood executive mentions, "It's outrageous, not to mention wildly unpopular, that politicians are using this widely discredited attack against Planned Parenthood to push through legislation rolling back women's access to healthcare."
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives have voted to take off Planned Parenthood's financial assistance in 2011, but the number was not enough to allow the said defunding to take place in the legislation level.
Meanwhile, a decision if funding will be discontinued or not is yet to be made by allowing the Senate Republicans to vote in legislation.
