Planned Parenthood still under scrutiny

by Tom Strode                                                                                             Vol. XXI, No.1, January 2008

Pressure on Congress to rein in the country's leading abortion provider continues.

Rep. Mike Pence, R.-Ind., introduced a bill Nov. 8 to bar federal family planning funds for the Planned Parenthood Federation of American and other organizations that perform abortions. The Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act would not eliminate any funds from the government's family planning program but would prevent abortion clinics from receiving such grants.

While Pence's new bill would apply to all abortion providers, its greatest impact would be on PPFA, which is Title X's top beneficiary. In July, he sought specifically to block PPFA from receiving grants through the program, but his amendment to that effect failed in a 231-189 vote.

"[S]hould the largest abortion provider in America also be the largest recipient of federal family planning funding under Title X? I think not," Pence said in a written release.

PPFA, which performed more than 260,000 abortions during the last fiscal year, receives more than $300 million yearly in federal grants.

In October, the Senate defeated an amendment similar to Pence's new legislation in a 52-41 vote.

The ERLC and other pro-life organizations sent an Oct. 24 letter to Congress urging the suspension of funds for PPFA pending the outcome of a criminal case in Kansas. The letter called for the funding moratorium after a Kansas judge found there was "probable cause" to proceed with a 107-count indictment against Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.

BAPTIST OFFERS SANCTITY OF LIFE BILL -- A new Southern Baptist member of Congress has offered legislation to guarantee all human life is constitutionally protected from the moment of fertilization.

Rep. Paul Broun, R.-Ga., a member of Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Athens, introduced the Sanctity of Human Life Act Nov. 14. "The right to life is our most important fundamental right, and it should be defended vigorously and absolutely," Broun said in a written statement. [BP]

[Tom Strode is the Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press.]