Congress

Paul Ryan Says GOP Will Defund Planned Parenthood Along With Obamacare

House Speaker Paul Ryan says the GOP's budget bill defunding Obamacare could include language to block Planned Parenthood's federal funds.

Paul Ryan Says GOP Will Defund Planned Parenthood Along With Obamacare
Getty Images
SMS

Congressional Republicans are moving forward with their plans to defund Obamacare — and also Planned Parenthood, according to House Speaker Paul Ryan.

When asked about his plans to defund Planned Parenthood, Ryan told reporters, "Planned Parenthood legislation would be in our reconciliation bill."

Government funding accounts for about 40 percent of Planned Parenthood's budget. Most of that money comes from patients covered by Medicaid.

Ryan and other Republicans want to ax that funding. And they could do so by attaching language to the budget reconciliation bill Congress plans to use to defund Obamacare.

Trump's Victory Has Some Women Considering IUDs
Trump's Victory Has Some Women Considering IUDs

Trump's Victory Has Some Women Considering IUDs

It all comes down to Obamacare and what repealing it could mean for birth control access.

LEARN MORE

Similar measures were attached to a previous reconciliation bill defunding Obamacare. It passed Congress last year, but the president vetoed it. 

President Obama recently enacted a new rule to preserve some government funding for Planned Parenthood. But those regulations apply only to state governments and account for about 5 percent of the organization's budget.

Under the Hyde Amendment, Planned Parenthood is barred from using federal funding to pay for abortion services except in cases of rape or when the mother's life is endangered. The organization is the nation's largest single provider of abortion services, which account for about 3 percent of its annual budget.