In a press release sent out on Friday, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo announced her first bill of 2023, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act. As detailed in the release, the intent of this bill is to effectively block federal tax dollars from going to Planned Parenthood by redirecting them to community health centers.
"The nation's largest abortion provider has no business receiving taxpayer dollars," Boebert said in a statement issued along with the announcement of the new bill. "Planned Parenthood claims these funds go to healthcare 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. Instead of funding Planned Parenthood, my bill will redirect this funding to community health centers that actually meet the health needs of women across the country."
I’ve introduced my first bill of the 118th Congress.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) January 20, 2023
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
In response to the news of the bill, Democratic activist Andrew Wortman tweeted out that, contrary to Boebert's statement, "Planned Parenthood provides critical health services to over a million women across the country every year."
Your sad attempt at a ‘bill’ to defund Planned Parenthood will never be brought to the senate floor for a vote even if it does manage to miraculously pass in the House. And Planned Parenthood provides critical health services to over a million women across the country every year. pic.twitter.com/LQdtwCF2NT
— Andrew Wortman (@AmoneyResists) January 21, 2023
Planned Parenthood details on their website just what defunding would look like for them saying "Defunding refers to stopping Planned Parenthood from being able to be reimbursed for providing services to people who rely on
Medicaid insurance or who are eligible for free or reduced fee services through the Title X program."
Breaking down how funding is distributed, the organization clears up a few misconceptions highlighting that "Title X and Medicaid insurance are only used to pay for family planning services such as preventive exams, screening
services and birth control. A federal law, the Hyde Amendment, is already in place to block federal funding from going to abortion services and PPWP is audited annually to verify our compliance."
