Obama's Veto of Defunding Planned Parenthood Criticized as Allowing 'Tax-Supported Human Trafficking'
Evangelical leaders denounced President Obama's decision Friday to veto a legislation that would defund Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, of hundreds of millions of tax dollars, saying that the president is allowing the continuation of "tax-supported human trafficking."
"The President's veto and his support of Planned Parenthood are not surprising moves, but they are sobering reminders of how much more there is to do for the cause of women and the unborn," said Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, commenting on Obama's veto of the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act on Friday.
Obama vetoed the legislation, H.R. 3762, two days after the House of Representatives passed and sent it to the president's desk. The measure passed the Senate last month.
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Family Research Council President Perkins also issued a statement, saying, "Mr. President, by vetoing this bill, you alone bear the moral responsibility for sending taxpayer dollars to a group that has engaged in the selling of baby body parts," alluding to recent undercover videos by the Center for Medical Progress exposing the abortion provider's apparent practices of harvesting fetal body parts for sale and changing the position of babies during abortions to be able to harvest intact organs.
"By vetoing the bill, the president has politicized and struck down a bill that the majority of Americans support," said Concerned Women for America in a statement, adding, "We look forward to fighting harder than ever to protect life in 2016."
Moore added in his comment that the "tax-supported human trafficking" of Planned Parenthood is "deeply entrenched in our cultural conscience," and criticized the "continual denial of the most basic of human rights to the most vulnerable among us" by the Obama administration.
Perkins said the American people, through Congress, have spoken loud and clear about this "moral injustice."
"But, unfortunately, yet again, this message has fallen on President Obama's deaf ears. We urge Congress to override the veto," Perkins added. "Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the country, doesn't need taxpayer dollars, especially in light of the selling of baby body parts and possible partial birth abortion violations. Additionally, federal tax dollars shouldn't be spent on an organization whose PAC spends tens of millions of dollars on partisan political activities and candidates who support their radical agenda. This forced partnership between taxpayers and Planned Parenthood must end."
Planned Parenthood performed 323,999 abortions – which roughly translates to 900 babies per day – last year, according to CWA, which noted that nearly 80 percent of funding for the abortion provider comes through Medicaid, and federal money accounted for 43 percent of Planned Parenthood's overall revenue. "Yet the group was given over half-a-billion dollars by the federal government in 2014-2015."
CWA also said the accusation, that defunding Planned Parenthood will result in women being unable to receive health care for services other than abortion, is "unfounded."
"There are over 13,000 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) which serve all women's health care needs, don't perform abortions, and outnumber Planned Parenthood clinics 20 to 1," CWA added. "If this bill had been signed into law, the government would have redirected an additional $235 million that previously went to Planned Parenthood to FQHCs."
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin also reacted to Obama's move, saying, "We have now shown that there is a clear path to repealing Obamacare without 60 votes in the Senate. So, next year, if we're sending this bill to a Republican president, it will get signed into law. Obamacare will be gone."
