Democrats have raised the pressure on Republicans to disband a special inquiry into Planned Parenthood as officials at the organization assert a link between Fridays deadly shooting at Colorado Springs health clinic and incendiary investigations by Congress.
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A federal judge Monday issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services from revoking the Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic’s license to perform abortions.
But top GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), have repeatedly said the spending bill will need to include conservative policy measures, which could spark last-minute fights with President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats. I spent the weekend researching online articles even by mainstream anti-abortion groups, and their use of Nazi imagery and accusations of “baby slaughter”, “genocide” and “mass murder” are legion.
The Senate plans to debate that legislation this week. The measure would have to be reconciled with a House-passed version before it can be shipped to Obama, however.
Planned Parenthood gets about one-third of its annual $1.3 billion budget from Washington.
There are countless numbers of cases in which abortion-providing doctors have been killed by pro-lifers.
The Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs sees 8,000 patients a year, making it one of the busiest clinics in the state.
In a speech on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid also called for an end to committee in the aftermath of the shooting, which he described as an act of “domestic terrorism”. This is an issue that I think has created a lot of hysteria by these incredibly highly edited videos and unfortunately, created the kind of climate that we are now seeing that leads to the harassment of doctors and the violence at clinics which really just has to stop.
Laughrey in her decision cited evidence that Planned Parenthood could win in court, saying that the state typically gives other similarly licensed centers the opportunity to come up with a plan of action to address concerns.
Ms. Runyon-Harms listed state legislators who serve on the Republican Study Committee, which held what she called a “sham hearing” last month on Planned Parenthood.
He also said federal Medicaid rules require proof of wrongdoing before a provider can be ejected from the program, and Planned Parenthood’s two Alabama clinics have no violations.
McCarthy contested suggestions by Planned Parenthood defenders that harsh language by the group’s critics helped create a hostile political environment that could encourage people to react violently against the organization.
McCarthy suggested he’s seen heated rhetoric from abortion rights defenders as well and said, “This individual, this shooting, the thing that drove him most is he’s an evil, insane man”.
Planned Parenthood has said reports that the shooter told investigators “no more baby parts” after his arrest showed he had an anti-abortion agenda.
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“It’s time for us to take down this committee and take down the vitriolic comments”, she said.
