Recently re-elected U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.-7, is using her second term in Congress to introduce legislation that would limit federal funding for entities that provide abortions.
Two new bills introduced Jan. 17 would further anti-abortion efforts that have become increasingly common since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022.
The Defund Planned Parenthood Act, H.R. 371, would prohibit the organization from accessing any federal mandatory or discretionary funds, according to a release. If Planned Parenthood wanted to maintain their federal funding, the bill states they must not perform abortions or support other entities that perform abortions.
Planned Parenthood received $633.4 million in revenue from government health services reimbursements and grants, or specifically Medicaid-managed care plans, according to their 2020-21 annual report.
“They boast about receiving $633.4 million from taxpayers annually to provide so-called ‘comprehensive health care services,’” Fischbach stated in the release. “Meanwhile, their reports show that they performed 383,460 abortions in 2020 whereas the amount of prenatal services that they provided dropped from 40,000 to 9,000 in just 10 years.”
While these numbers are technically correct, the information can be misleading. Prenatal services only make up 0.08% of the reproductive healthcare services Planned Parenthood provides, while abortions are considered in their own category, according to the annual report.
As a part of their “so called comprehensive health care services,” Planned Parenthood provided nearly nine million medical services in 2020, including sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment, contraceptive services and cancer screenings. Nearly four million STI tests were given in 2020 and more than 400,000 cancer-related services were provided, according to the annual report.
This isn’t the first time the bill has been seen on the House floor. A bill of the same name was introduced in 2015 and an amended version was passed in a 241-187 vote. One of the bill’s co-sponsors, former Missouri Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-4, allegedly asked Fischbach to move this legislation forward, according to the release.
“The Defund Planned Parenthood Act was previously introduced by former Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, who asked Congresswoman Fischbach to move this legislation forward, stating ‘Taxpayers should not have to pay for Planned Parenthood’s abortion industry. Abortion is not healthcare, yet it is the foundation of Planned Parenthood’s mission—making up 96.6% of Planned Parenthood’s services,’” according to the release.
Planned Parenthood’s annual report states 95.6% of their services are not abortion, which is in direct opposition of Fischbach’s statement.
The other bill Fischbach introduced, The Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act, H.R. 372, would prevent any entity from receiving federal funds if they provide abortions — except in the case of rape, incest and danger to the mother’s life. These restrictions will still apply if an entity is found to be providing funds for another that provides abortions.
“Organizations like Planned Parenthood receive millions of hard earned taxpayer dollars every year to provide abortions on demand,” Fischbach stated. “Americans across the country value the lives of precious unborn babies and it is wrong to force them to spend their tax dollars on something that goes against their closest held values.”
Both bills boast more than 35 co-sponsors and have been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for review. If the committee releases the bill to the house floor, a vote will be scheduled.
Republicans have a slim majority in the House, meaning the bill is likely to move onto the Senate. However, the 2015 bill that passed the house did not move through the Republican-majority senate and subsequently failed in its legislative session.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Fischbach’s constituency, the state House of Representatives passed the Protect Reproductive Options Act, HF1, in a 69-65 vote.
The Minnesota bill would establish the fundamental right to reproductive healthcare, like abortions, in state law. The proposed legislation also hopes to protect sterilization, family planning, maternity care, fertility services and counseling related to reproductive health.
Attempts to amend the bill to ban abortions in the third trimester and banning partial birth abortions were voted down.
Enshrining abortion rights has been a top priority for Democrats since the start of the 2023 legislative session, yet many Republicans have been staunchly opposed.
“Reasonable people on both sides of this issue can agree that certain guardrails are needed,” said Minnesota Rep. Jeff Backer, R-9A. “Instead, Democrats have rejected any attempts at compromise and are pushing ahead with the most extreme abortion bill in the country.”
Now, the bill is on its way to the DFL-controlled state Senate, where a vote is expected within the next week.