In a letter to Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, 153 members of Congress have asked him to review the Title X program, authorized in 1970, and designed to fund family planning programs but not abortion. Since then funds for family planning are often commingled with abortion funds in facilities that where both services are offered. Planned Parenthood receives $60 million annually from this program while they maintain that they must provide abortion at their facilities as part of their family planning program. Planned Parenthood should not be receiving funding through Title X, therefore these representatives are asking for review of the program and the withdrawal of funds from from Planned Parenthood.
Of course no Democrats would sign such a letter but easy for Congressional Republicans to support it since the majority (all?) are pro-life. Moving to defund Planned Parenthood and their abortion services is a no brainer for Republicans. Right? Not for two of Virginia’s Republican Congressional delegation who did not sign the letter, Rep.Scott Taylor (VA2) and Rep. Barbara Comstock (VA10). The other five Republicans representing Virginia signed it. It would be interesting to know why Comstock and Taylor did not sign the letter when it’s a start in defunding Planned Parenthood.
More from Tennessee’s Congresswoman Diane Black on the Title X letter here.
