Republican House Approves Two Pro-Life Bills After Planned Parenthood Scandal

Two important pro-life bills were approved in the Republican-controlled House this week, giving pro-life lawmakers hope for the legislations' further advancement.

The first bill aims to federally defund Planned Parenthood, while the second bill would seek to impose criminal punishments for doctors who do not attempt to save a fetus born alive during an abortion.

According to the Associated Press, pro-life lawmakers have pushed both bills in response to recent videos released that shows Planned Parenthood executives discussing the controversial procedures used when procuring aborted fetal tissue for research.

Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala) told the Associated Press that she believes democrats are using the veil of health care to continue defending the nation's largest abortion provider.

"It's about preserving a pipeline of funding to the nation's largest abortion provider," Roby said. "We all get that. So let's drop the phony women's health charade."

In response to the new pro-life legislation, Planned Parenthood released a memo to supporters arguing that the second bill that criminalizes killing an aborted fetus born alive would "interfere with the sacred doctor-patient relationship and substitute a physician's best judgment with that of a group of politicians."

Harold Rogers, House Appropriations Committee chairman, recently told the New York Times that Republican leaders must come to an agreement regarding the bill that would end funding to Planned Parenthood, as some in the GOP have suggested shutting down the government if a bill calling for the defunding doesn't pass.

"This issue is so explosive, so emotional and has been so publicly discussed across the country that it's difficult to come to a consensus," Rogers told the media outlet. "Eventually we have got to pass a CR that the president will sign."