The largest pro-life groups in the country sent a letter to Congressional Republican leaders reminding them of their promise to end taxpayer funding for abortion.
The Susan B. Anthony List, a powerful pro-life group, on Tuesday, along with nine allied organizations sent a joint letter to the members of the House of Representatives and Senate and urged them to defund Planned Parenthood. Currently, the abortion provider receives $500 million in taxpayer funding.
The groups are simply asking for Republicans to act on legislation that they were able to pass – but to not get signed into law – under Obama. The letter demanded that GOP’s “rhetoric must be translated into law” and pointed out how Congress use the process of budget reconciliation to force the defunding of Planned Parenthood though the Senate.
The letter further says, “The pro-life majority that now controls both chambers of Congress and the White House must pass a reconciliation bill stopping the vast majority of federal funding for Planned Parenthood … Doing anything less brings into question whether this Congress can truly be called the pro-life Congress.”
According to the pro-life leaders, voters handed the GOP the House, Senate and White House, and now expect the campaign promises to be fulfilled. This defunding measure has been gaining momentum and popularity especially after Live Action released undercover footage showed Planned Parenthood’s extensive – and highly illegal- fetal organ harvesting operation. In response, nearly all of the GOP presidential candidate to endorse the withdrawal of the taxpayer support, including then-candidate Trump.
It should be noted that Paul Ryan also so pledged to include defunding measure in the bill was Speaker Paul Ryan, the Reconciliation bill was supposed to repeal and replace Obamacare – a bill which never passed the Senate. Hence the letter sent was full of frustration at the lack of action on the promises made.
The letter further adds, “Excited by this clear proof that a defunding bill could reach the Oval Office, the American people responded by sending President Trump, who pledged to sign legislation to defund Planned Parenthood, to the White House … Congress has failed to send President Trump a bill redirecting Planned Parenthood funding to alternative providers.”
The Pro-life groups all over the country spent over an $11.7 million on elections contributions between 2010 and 2016, approximately 95% of which went to Republican candidates. The SBA List was among the largest donors which accounted to almost $1.4 million to candidates along with a further $1.8 million in outside spending in year 2016.
The Susan B. Anthony List letter was also co-signed by the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, Americans United for Life, Students for Life America, Family Policy Alliance, American Values, March for Life Education and Defense Fund, Live Action, and the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.