Abortion Foes to Congress: Use Budget Tactic to Defund Planned Parenthood

Several dozen anti-abortion groups wrote to Congress Monday, urging lawmakers to try to strip federal funds from Planned Parenthood by using a special legislative tactic.

The House is already moving in that direction, with the House Budget Committee planning a Friday hearing on what's known as a budget reconciliation bill, which can pass the Senate with a simple majority instead of the typical 60-vote threshold.

The bill says the women's health and abortion provider can't receive federal funds for one year and redirects the money to other health centers. It is Republicans' second try to defund Planned Parenthood, after an initial attempt to strip funding in a bill funding the government through the fall.

Thirty-five groups, including the Susan B. Anthony List, National Right to Life and the Family Research Council, are supporting the reconciliation effort, writing to Congress that "Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses do not need or deserve taxpayer funding."

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