Senate Republicans Pass Bill Defunding Planned Parenthood

Senate Republicans this week passed a bill angled at the federal defunding of Planned Parenthood, as well as the repealing of the Affordable Healthcare Act.

Those in support of the senate actions argue that although the president is expected to veto both bills, they still carry importance for alerting the Commander-in-Chief to the concerns of the American people.

"Sending a bill to the president will certainly generate media headlines and make more Americans aware of the ongoing and widespread horrors that occur at Planned Parenthood," Lila Rose, president of the Live Action pro-life group, said in a statement. "And perhaps this could force the president's hand to stop the forced taxpayer funding of the abortion giant, which kills over 300,000 babies a year."

Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama added to NPR that "The value is to let him know — the president — and others that there's a big division in this country, and a lot of us don't like it, and the American people don't like it."

Planned Parenthood released a statement this week denouncing the senate bill, with Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, saying in a statement that "It seems implausible that less than a week after a tragic shooting at the Planned Parenthood health center in Colorado Springs some in Washington chose politics over compassion."

"What millions of people across this country needed in the wake of two unspeakable acts of violence this week, in Colorado and in California, was reassurance that lawmakers care about the lives, health and safety of the people they represent," Laguens added. "What they got instead was the cold shoulder of indifference."