U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who won a hard-fought re-election bid against Democratic challenger Adam Frisch, is already making her pro-life voice heard in the new legislative session.
This week, she introduced her first bill, the aptly named Defund Planned Parenthood Act.
In a statement arguing in favor of the proposed legislation, Boebert said: “The nation’s largest abortion provider has no business receiving taxpayer dollars.”
Planned Parenthood reportedly received in excess of $633 million in government funds last year alone.
Boebert noted that the organization “claims these funds go to health care for women, but last year, Planned Parenthood performed a record number of abortions while also reducing the number of well-woman exams and breast cancer screenings it performed.”
Her announcement coincided with the annual March for Life, as she referenced in a tweet on the subject.
I’ve introduced my first bill of the 118th Congress.
It would defund Planned Parenthood.
We need to protect the sanctity of life in this country.
To all those marching at the March For Life, let’s rally behind this bill and get it done!https://t.co/RGKzJDd0te
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) January 20, 2023
“Instead of funding Planned Parenthood, my bill will redirect this funding to community health centers that focus on healthy women, not killing babies,” the Colorado Republican added.
The bill has reportedly garnered the support of more than two dozen fellow House Republicans, though it is not the first GOP attempt to pull federal funding from the organization.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced a similar amendment in 2018 and his office explained at the time that it “would not prevent health care providers that do not perform abortions from continuing to receive federal funding for women’s health services, and affected entities that stop performing abortions would be eligible to have their funding restored.”
Less than three years later, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) proposed the Protecting Funding for Women’s Healthcare Act.
“Taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund organizations that perform abortions, an inhumane practice that a substantial percentage of Americans have a strong moral objection to,” Rubio said at the time. “Planned Parenthood should never receive federal funding, and this legislation would make that a reality. I am proud to join Senator Ernst in introducing this legislation, and I remain committed to fighting for the unborn.”
As written, that bill would have likewise redirected government funds from Planned Parenthood to entities providing women’s health care services that do not include abortion.
