Life Advocacy Briefing

Moving on Planned Parenthood Defunding

THE U.S. HOUSE WAS TO TAKE A VOTE LAST FRIDAY – after our press deadline – on a “reconciliation” measure to, reports Ben Johnson for LifeSiteNews.com, “defund Planned Parenthood and repeal two major healthcare rationing components of ObamaCare.” We plan to publish the House voting record on HR-3762 as early as next week.

The “reconciliation” maneuver has been chosen because of its exclusion from the Senate’s filibuster rule. Once the measure has passed the House, it needs just a majority of votes in the Senate, where most legislation requires 60 votes to be brought for a vote. Reconciliation bypasses filibuster.

Readers are urged to contact their home-state US Senators to request a “yes” vote on HR-3762 and a vote favorable to the right to Life on any procedural motions which may be needed. Contact them via the Capitol switchboard at 1-202/224-3121.

Though the measure is subject, under the Constitution, to Presidential action – which, in this case, no doubt means veto – passage of HR-3762 will give the American people an opportunity to tell their President and their Members of the House and Senate what they think of being forced to fund an outfit that commits abortion and traffics in baby body parts. And to see what their public officials do about it. No more Senate excuses. Passage of HR-3762 in the House, which we expect has happened by the time you read this, will give the Senate GOP Leadership the tool they claim to want to use to bring this matter to an actual vote and to make their own contribution to restoring justice and mercy in America.

We will look with particular interest to the votes of GOP Senators Mark Kirk (IL) and Lisa Murkowski (AK), both of whom are scheduled to face their states’ voters next year. Sen. Kirk has been compiling a solidly pro-abortion voting record – even since the Planned Parenthood videos surfaced this summer – and Sen. Murkowski, in a mid-October interview with KTUU-TV in Anchorage, declared herself “‘a supporter of Planned Parenthood,’” reports Dustin Siggins for LifeSiteNews.com.

House Votes to Investigate Planned Parenthood Practices

THE HOUSE VOTED OCT. 7 TO ESTABLISH AN INVESTIGATORY SUBCOMMITTEE of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce. The probe, authorized by a 242-to-184 vote, centers chiefly on Planned Parenthood’s involvement in the trafficking of baby body parts.

We are publishing the House voting record on H-Res-461, by which the House established the official probe, in this Life Advocacy Briefing, and we are publishing also the text of the resolution establishing the “select investigative panel.” We thank Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) for leading this action.

Federal Judges Trample Louisiana & Utah Sovereignty

A FEDERAL JUDGE HAS ISSUED A SECOND TEMPORARY ORDER blocking Louisiana from disqualifying Planned Parenthood from state funding. And in Utah, US District Judge Clark Waddoups – who was appointed to the bench by Pres. George W. Bush (R) – extended a restraining order he first issued on Sept. 29 barring Gov. Gary Herbert from efforts to defund Planned Parenthood; the veteran GOP governor issued an order to exclude Planned Parenthood in August after the scandalous revelations of the abortion outfit’s involvement in baby body-parts trafficking.

After US District Judge John deGravelles blocked Louisiana’s effort in September, the state brought another action to disqualify Planned Parenthood, and the abortion goliath went back to Judge deGravelles and got him to weigh in a second time. The judge took office in 2014, having been appointed by Pres. Barack Obama (D).

A spokesman for GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal, Mike Reed, was quoted by Dustin Siggins in a report for LifeSiteNews.com: “‘Planned Parenthood is engaging in classic misdirection regarding the millions they have repaid in Medicaid fraud,’” he said, “‘and their own admissions in the baby parts trafficking videos. …

“‘Instead of going through the same administrative review as any other Medicaid provider,’” said Mr. Reed in a LifeSiteNews interview, “‘they are running to the federal courts and asking for special treatment. We will appeal this decision,’” he asserted, “‘and continue to fight to ensure Planned Parenthood no longer receives taxpayer funding’” from the people of Louisiana.

Texas Defunds Planned Parenthood for ‘Misconduct’

UNDAUNTED BY THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY’s LONG TRACK RECORD of kowtowing to Planned Parenthood, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in mid-October announced the exclusion of the abortion profiteer from participation in the state’s Medicaid program.

The inspector general for the Texas Health & Human Services Commission, Stuart Bowen Jr., issued a letter to Planned Parenthood stating, reports Ben Johnson for LifeSiteNews.com, “‘The State has determined that you and your Planned Parenthood affiliates are no longer capable of performing medical services in a professional competent safe, legal and ethical manner. …

“‘Earlier this year you committed and condoned numerous acts of misconduct,’” Mr. Bowen wrote in his notice, “‘captured on video that reveal repeated program violations and breach the minimum standards of care required of a Medicaid enrollee.’”

The inspector general’s “letter tells Planned Parenthood officials,” reports Mr. Johnson, “despite their claims that they are the only healthcare outlet available to low-income women, ‘Your termination and that of all your affiliates will not affect access to care in this state, because there are thousands of alternate providers in Texas, including federally qualified health centers, Medicaid-certified rural health clinic[s] and other healthcare providers across the state that participate in the Texas Women’s Health Program and Medicaid.’”

Declared Gov. Abbott, quoted by Mr. Johnson: “‘The gruesome harvesting of baby body parts by Planned Parenthood will not be allowed in Texas, and the barbaric practice must be brought to an end. … Ending the Medicaid participation of Planned Parenthood affiliates in the State of Texas is another step in providing greater access to safe health care for women while protecting our most vulnerable – the unborn.’”

Major Excerpt from Text of HRes-461

Resolved, that there is hereby established a Select Investigative Panel of the Committee on Energy & Commerce (hereinafter “select panel”).

Sec. 2 (a) The select panel shall be composed of not more than 14 Members, Delegates or the Resident Commissioner appointed by the Speaker, of whom not more than six shall be appointed on the recommendation of the minority leader. Any vacancy in the select panel shall be filed in the same manner as the original appointment.
(b) Each member appointed to the select panel shall be treated as though a member of the Committee on Energy & Commerce for purposes of the select panel.
(c) No member may serve on the select panel in an ex-officio capacity.
(d) The Speaker shall designate as chair of the select panel a member elected to the Committee on Energy & Commerce.

Sec. 3 (a) The select panel is authorized and directed to conduct a full and complete
investigation and study and issue a final report of its findings (and such interim reports as it may deem necessary) regarding –

1. Medical procedures and business practices used by entities involved in fetal tissue procurement;
2. Any other relevant matters with respect to fetal tissue procurement;
3. Federal funding and support for abortion providers;
4. The practices of providers of second- and third-trimester abortions, including partial-birth abortion and procedures that may lead      to a child born alive as a result of an attempted abortion;
5. Medical procedures for the care of a child born alive as a result of an attempted abortion; and
6. Any changes in law or regulation necessary as a result of any findings made under this subsection.

            (b) The chair of the Committee on Energy & Commerce shall cause any such report to be printed and made publicly available in electronic form.

[The balance of the resolution is technical in nature.]

House Voting Records

HRes-461 – To Establish a Select Panel to Investigate Planned Parenthood – Oct. 7, 2015 – Passed – 242-184 (Democrats in italics)

Voting “yes,” pro/life: Aderholt, Brooks, Byrne, Palmer, Roby, Rogers/AL; Young/AK; Franks, Gosar, McSally, Salmon, Schweikert/AZ; Crawford, Hill, Westerman, Womack/AR; Calvert, Cook, Denham, Hunter, Issa, Knight, LaMalfa, McCarthy, McClintock, Nunes, Rohrabacher, Royce, Valadao, Walters/CA; Buck, Coffman, Lamborn, Tipton/CO; Bilirakis, Buchanan, Clawson, Crenshaw, Curbelo, DeSantis, Diaz-Balart, Mica, Miller, Nugent, Posey, Rooney, Ros-Lehtinen, Ross, Webster, Yoho/FL; Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, T. Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall/GA; Labrador, Simpson/ID; Bost, R. Davis, Dold, Hultgren, Kinzinger, LaHood, Lipinski, Roskam, Shimkus/IL; Brooks, Bucshon, Messer, Rokita, Stutzman, Young/IN; Blum, King, Young/IA; Huelskamp, Jenkins, Pompeo, Yoder/KS; Barr, Guthrie, Massie, Rogers, Whitfield/KY; Abraham, Boustany, Fleming, Graves, Scalise/LA; Poliquin/ME; Harris/MD; Amash, Benishek, Bishop, Huizenga, Miller, Moolenaar, Trott, Upton, Walberg/MI; Emmer, Kline, Paulsen, Peterson/MN; Harper, Kelly, Palazzo/MS; Graves, Hartzler, Long, Luetkemeyer, Smith/MO; Zinke/MT; Fortenberry, Smith/NE; Amodei, Hardy, Heck/NV; Guinta/NH; Frelinghuysen, Garrett, Lance, LoBiondo, MacArthur, Smith/NJ; Pearce/NM; Collins, Donovan, Gibson, Hanna, Katko, King, Reed, Stefanik, Zeldin/NY; Ellmers, Foxx, Holding, Hudson, Jones, McHenry, Meadows, Pittenger, Rouzer, Walker/NC; Cramer/ND; Chabot, Gibbs, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Latta, Renacci, Stivers, Tiberi, Turner, Wenstrup/OH; Bridenstine, Cole, Lucas, Mullin, Russell/OK; Walden/OR; Barletta, Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Kelly, Marino, Meehan, Murphy, Perry, Pitts, Rothfus, Shuster, Thompson/PA; Duncan, Gowdy, Mulvaney, Rice, Sanford, Wilson/SC; Noem/SD; Black, Blackburn, DesJarlais, Duncan, Fincher, Fleischmann, Roe/TN; Babin, Barton, Brady, Burgess, Carter, Conaway, Culberson, Farenthold, Flores, Gohmert, Hensarling, Hurd, S. Johnson, Marchant, McCaul, Neugebauer, Olson, Poe, Ratcliffe, Sessions, Thornberry, Weber/TX; Bishop, Chaffetz, Love, Stewart/UT; Brat, Comstock, Forbes, Goodlatte, Griffith, Hurt, Rigell, Wittman/VA; Herrera-Beutler, McMorris-Rodgers, Newhouse, Reichert/WA; Jenkins, McKinley, Mooney/WV; Duffy, Grothman, Ribble, Ryan, Sensenbrenner/WI; Lummis/WY.

Voting “no,” anti-Life: Sewell/AL; Gallego, Grijalva, Kirkpatrick/AZ; Aguilar, Bass, Becerra, Bera, Brownley, Capps, Cardenas, Chu, Costa, Davis, DeSaulnier, Eshoo, Farr, Garamendi, Hahn, Honda, Huffman, Lee, Lieu, Lofgren, Lowenthal, Matsui, McNerney, Napolitano, Pelosi, Peters, Roybal-Allard, Ruiz, Linda Sanchez, Loretta Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Speier, Swalwell, Takano, Thompson, Torres, Vargas, Waters/CA; DeGette, Perlmutter, Polis/CO; Courtney, DeLauro, Esty, Himes, Larson/CT; Carney/DE; Brown, Castor, Deutch, Frankel, Graham, Grayson, Hastings, Jolly, Murphy, Wasserman-Schultz, Wilson/FL; Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott/GA; Gabbard, Takai/HI; Bustos, D. Davis, Duckworth, Foster, Gutierrez, Kelly, Quigley, Rush, Schakowsky/IL; Carson, Visclosky/IN; Loebsack/IA; Yarmuth/KY; Richmond/LA; Pingree/ME; Cummings, Delaney, Edwards, Hoyer, Ruppersberger, Sarbanes, VanHollen/MD; Capuano, Clark, Keating, Kennedy, Lynch, McGovern, Moulton, Neal, Tsongas/MA; Conyers, Kildee, Lawrence, Levin/MI; Ellison, McCollum, Nolan, Walz/MN; Thompson/MS; Clay, Cleaver/MO; Ashford/NE; Titus/NV; Kuster/NH; Norcross, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, Sires, Watson-Coleman/NJ; Lujan, Lujan-Grisham/NM; Clarke, Crowley, Engel, Higgins, Israel, Jeffries, Lowey, C. Maloney, S. Maloney, Meeks, Meng, Nadler, Rangel, Rice, Serrano, Slaughter, Tonko, Velazquez/NY; Adams, Butterfield, Price/NC; Beatty, Fudge, Kaptur, Ryan/OH; Blumenauer, Bonamici, DeFazio, Schrader/OR; Boyle, Brady, Cartwright, Doyle, Fattah/PA; Cicilline, Langevin/RI; Clyburn/SC; Cohen, Cooper/TN; Castro, Cuellar, Doggett, A. Green, G. Green, Jackson-Lee, E.B. Johnson, O’Rourke, Veasey, Vela/TX; Welch/VT; Beyer, Connolly, Scott/VA; DelBene, Heck, Kilmer, Larsen, McDermott, Smith/WA; Kind, Moore, Pocan/WI.

Not voting: Sinema/AZ; Walorski/IN; Dingell/MI; Wagner/MO; Hudson/NC; Boehner/OH; Granger, Hinojosa, Smith, Williams/TX.

HR-3134 –Procedural Motion to Recommit (blocking consideration) – Defunding Planned Parenthood – Sept. 18 – Failed – 183-245 (Democrats in italics)

Voting “no,” pro/life: Aderholt, Brooks, Byrne, Palmer, Roby, Rogers/AL; Young/AK; Franks, Gosar, McSally, Salmon, Schweikert/AZ; Crawford, Hill, Westerman, Womack/AR; Calvert, Cook, Denham, Hunter, Issa, Knight, LaMalfa, McCarthy, McClintock, Nunes, Rohrabacher, Royce, Valadao, Walters/CA; Buck, Coffman, Lamborn, Tipton/CO; Bilirakis, Buchanan, Clawson, Crenshaw, Curbelo, DeSantis, Diaz-Balart, Jolly, Mica, Miller, Nugent, Posey, Rooney, Ros-Lehtinen, Ross, Webster, Yoho/FL; Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, T. Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall/GA; Labrador, Simpson/ID; Bost, R. Davis, Dold, Hultgren, Kinzinger, LaHood, Lipinski, Roskam, Shimkus/IL; Brooks, Bucshon, Messer, Rokita, Stutzman, Walorski, Young/IN; Blum, King, Young/IA; Huelskamp, Jenkins, Pompeo, Yoder/KS; Barr, Guthrie, Massie, Rogers, Whitfield/KY; Abraham, Boustany, Fleming, Graves, Scalise/LA; Poliquin/ME; Harris/MD; Amash, Benishek, Bishop, Huizenga, Miller, Moolenaar, Trott, Upton, Walberg/MI; Emmer, Kline, Paulsen, Peterson/MN; Harper, Kelly, Palazzo/MS; Graves, Hartzler, Long, Luetkemeyer, Smith/MO; Zinke/MT; Smith/NE; Amodei, Hardy, Heck/NV; Guinta/NH; Frelinghuysen, Garrett, Lance, LoBiondo, MacArthur, Smith/NJ; Pearce/NM; Collins, Donovan, Gibson, Hanna, Katko, King, Reed, Stefanik, Zeldin/NY; Ellmers, Foxx, Holding, Hudson, Jones, McHenry, Meadows, Pittenger, Rouzer, Walker/NC; Cramer/ND; Chabot, Gibbs, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Latta, Renacci, Stivers, Tiberi, Turner, Wenstrup/OH; Bridenstine, Cole, Lucas, Mullin, Russell/OK; Walden/OR; Barletta, Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Kelly, Marino, Meehan, Murphy, Perry, Pitts, Rothfus, Shuster, Thompson/PA; Duncan, Gowdy, Mulvaney, Rice, Sanford, Wilson/SC; Noem/SD; Black, Blackburn, DesJarlais, Duncan, Fleischmann, Roe/TN; Babin, Barton, Brady, Burgess, Carter, Conaway, Culberson, Farenthold, Flores, Gohmert, Granger, Hensarling, Hurd, S. Johnson, Marchant, McCaul, Neugebauer, Olson, Poe, Ratcliffe, Sessions, Smith, Thornberry, Weber, Williams/TX; Bishop, Chaffetz, Love, Stewart/UT; Brat, Comstock, Forbes, Goodlatte, Griffith, Hurt, Rigell, Wittman/VA; Herrera-Beutler, McMorris-Rodgers, Newhouse, Reichert/WA; Jenkins, McKinley, Mooney/WV; Duffy, Grothman, Ribble, Ryan, Sensenbrenner/WI; Lummis/WY.

Voting “yes,” anti-Life: Sewell/AL; Gallego, Grijalva, Kirkpatrick, Sinema/AZ; Aguilar, Bass, Becerra, Bera, Brownley, Capps, Chu, Costa, Davis, DeSaulnier, Eshoo, Farr, Garamendi, Hahn, Honda, Huffman, Lee, Lieu, Lofgren, Lowenthal, Matsui, McNerney, Napolitano, Pelosi, Peters, Roybal-Allard, Ruiz, Linda Sanchez, Loretta Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Speier, Swalwell, Takano, Torres, Vargas, Waters/CA; DeGette, Perlmutter, Polis/CO; Courtney, DeLauro, Esty, Himes, Larson/CT; Carney/DE; Brown, Castor, Deutch, Frankel, Graham, Grayson, Hastings, Murphy, Wasserman-Schultz, Wilson/FL; Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott/GA; Gabbard, Takai/HI; Bustos, D. Davis, Duckworth, Foster, Gutierrez, Kelly, Quigley, Rush, Schakowsky/IL; Carson, Visclosky/IN; Loebsack/IA; Yarmuth/KY; Richmond/LA; Pingree/ME; Cummings, Delaney, Edwards, Hoyer, Ruppersberger, Sarbanes, VanHollen/MD; Capuano, Clark, Keating, Kennedy, Lynch, McGovern, Moulton, Neal, Tsongas/MA; Conyers, Dingell, Kildee, Lawrence, Levin/MI; Ellison, McCollum, Nolan, Walz/MN; Thompson/MS; Clay, Cleaver/MO; Ashford/NE; Titus/NV; Kuster/NH; Norcross, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, Sires, Watson-Coleman/NJ; Lujan, Lujan-Grisham/NM; Clarke, Crowley, Engel, Higgins, Israel, Jeffries, Lowey, C. Maloney, S. Maloney, Meeks, Meng, Nadler, Rangel, Rice, Serrano, Slaughter, Tonko, Velazquez/NY; Adams, Butterfield, Price/NC; Beatty, Fudge, Kaptur, Ryan/OH; Blumenauer, Bonamici, DeFazio, Schrader/OR; Boyle, Brady, Cartwright, Doyle, Fattah/PA; Cicilline, Langevin/RI; Clyburn/SC; Cohen, Cooper/TN; Castro, Cuellar, Doggett, A. Green, G. Green, Hinojosa, Jackson-Lee, E.B. Johnson, O’Rourke, Veasey, Vela/TX; Welch/VT; Beyer, Connolly, Scott/VA; DelBene, Heck, Kilmer, Larsen, McDermott/WA; Kind, Moore, Pocan/WI.

Not voting: Cardenas, Thompson/CA; Wagner/MO; Fortenberry/NE; Boehner/OH; Fincher/TN; Smith/WA.