House Passes Bills to Defund Abortion Provider, Protect Abortion Survivors

As they promised, House Republicans managed to pass two pro-life bills on Friday – one to defund the taxpayer-subsidized abortion giant Planned Parenthood, the other to increase protections for babies born alive during botched abortions. While they aren't expected to be signed into law -- President Obama has already promised to veto them, and congressional Democrats have the votes to sustain the veto -- here’s a basic breakdown of the two bills:

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The Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, which would strip the abortion organization of millions in annual federal funding, passed 241-187. The bill would restrict federal funding of Planned Parenthood pending a federal investigation into its alleged illegal sale of aborted fetal body parts unless the organization pledged to stop performing abortions. The money that would otherwise have been given to Planned Parenthood would be redistributed among other women’s health care centers. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which passed 248-177, would increase the penalty for abortionists who terminate the life of a child born alive during a botched abortion to first-degree murder. The bill comes on the heels of powerful testimony from two abortion survivors last week before the House Judiciary Committee, as well as court cases featuring abortionists like Kermit Gosnell, who was convicted in 2013 of three counts of murder after using scissors to sever the necks of babies born alive during abortions in his clinic in Philadelphia. More...

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