Planned Parenthood

In a move which should surprise exactly no one, Congressional Republicans are attempting to defund Planned Parenthood AGAIN:

House Republicans are demanding a series of controversial abortion and health care policies in the annual health spending bill, setting up a showdown with Democrats and threatening passage of an omnibus spending package to keep the government open.

Democrats are vowing to block the slew of long-sought conservative priorities. The riders would cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood, eliminate a federal family planning program and ax the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, according to sources on Capitol Hill. Republicans also want to insert a new prohibition on funding research that uses human fetal tissue obtained after an abortion.

UPDATE 5/19/17:  In "honor" of the Jason Chaffetz's announcement that he's resigning in June, I thought it might be a good time to repost this "classic" entry:

During today's Planned Parenthood witchhunt er, "Congressional hearing", Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah presented a very interesting (some might say "simplistic" and "unsourced & without context" chart which purported to "prove" that Planned Parenthood has supposedly, over the years, dramatically reduced how much non-abortion service they provide while simultaneously increasing the number of abortions that they perform:

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) stumbled near the start of a tense hearing on Tuesday when Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards told him to check his sources on a chart that he said showed a decrease in breast exams and an increase in abortions by the organization.

(sigh) I suppose this was inevitable. Wednesday, 2:27pm:

CMS awards $67 million in Affordable Care Act funding to help consumers sign-up for affordable Health Insurance Marketplace coverage in 2016

With Marketplace Open Enrollment set to begin on November 1, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced grant awards totaling $67 million to support outreach efforts designed to connect people with local help as they seek to understand the coverage options and financial assistance available at HealthCare.gov.Awarded to 100 organizations located in 34 states that operate Federally Facilitated Marketplaces, State Partnership Marketplaces, and supported State-Based Marketplaces, the three year-long Marketplace Navigator grants will fuel efforts to help consumers enroll in a health plan that fits their budget and best meets their family’s needs.

Thursday, 2:25pm:

Planned Parenthood gets $1M Obamacare grant, sparks GOP fury

The Washington Post, today:

During the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014, the most recent for which data is available, Planned Parenthood affiliates around the country received $528.4 million in government funds (a combination of state, federal and sometimes local government dollars), according to the organization's ownannual report and information it's required to share with the IRS.

Jeb "The Smart Brother" Bush, just moments ago, explaining why he feels Planned Parenthood should be defunded nationally (as he did while Governor of Florida):

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