{"id":125647,"date":"2016-09-08T13:33:07","date_gmt":"2016-09-08T17:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=125647"},"modified":"2016-09-09T12:38:16","modified_gmt":"2016-09-09T16:38:16","slug":"zika-funding-stalled-third-time-over-abortion-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/zika-funding-stalled-third-time-over-abortion-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Zika funding stalled for third time over abortion funding"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Funding to combat the spread of the Zika virus has taken on a political fight over funding abortion giant Planned Parenthood. A bill has passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, but failed in the U.S. Senate,\u00a0for the third\u00a0time<\/a>, after it received a vote of 52-46, falling short of the necessary 60 votes.<\/p>\n

As the Washington Examiner reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n

…The Democratic filibuster marks the third time party lawmakers have stood in the way of the GOP-authored bill.<\/p>\n

Democratic lawmakers have refused to back the legislation because it strips more than half a billion dollars from a defunct Obamacare fund as well as more than $200 million from other unspent federal funds. Democrats also oppose the bill because the funding would not be distributed to clinics in Puerto Rico that are affiliated with Planned Parenthood, a women’s health care and abortion provider. And finally, they want the GOP to strike language in the bill that would allow spraying for mosquitos near water, which is banned under the Clean Water Act.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Planned Parenthood\u00a0already receives<\/a> $553.7 million annually in taxpayer funds. Despite funding\u00a0increases<\/a>, Planned Parenthood’s\u00a0services providing legitimate healthcare<\/a> and contraception<\/a> have declined considerably while abortions increased, according to their own\u00a0annual reports. This causes many to question why the abortion chain should\u00a0be trusted with money for contraception to fight the Zika virus. Planned Parenthood also advocates for aborting babies whose mothers are affected with the Zika virus, as they may be born with microcephaly. However, a new\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0published in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/em> casts doubts on\u00a0the connection between microcephaly and the Zika virus.<\/p>\n

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