Defunding Planned Parenthood

Like you, I am outraged and disgusted by the unspeakable acts of Planned Parenthood. Last week, the Center for Medical Progress released another disturbing video showing Planned Parenthood staff describing how they manipulate abortions to secure more valuable organ specimens, haggle over prices, and participate in trafficking of unborn baby body parts.

It is essential we reduce the number of abortions in America, and my conservative colleagues and I in the U.S. House are committed to this goal. The videos raise questions about possible misuse of federal funds. In response to these disturbing videos, I coauthored Representative Diane Black's (R-TN) “Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015,” which immediately cuts off all federal funding to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates for a one-year period.

Current law prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for elective abortions. Specifically, my colleagues and I on the Appropriations Committee banned the use of federal funding for abortions under Medicaid and for abortions in the federal prison system, except in cases of rape or if the life of the mother is at risk. We also put in place restrictions ensuring foreign aid dollars cannot be used to pay for abortions. Unfortunately, none of these restrictions are permanent, and we have to fight each year to have them included in annual appropriations bills.

In January, before the gruesome Planned Parenthood videos came to light, the House passed the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act.” I am a cosponsor of this important bill that establishes a government-wide, permanent prohibition on using federal funds to pay for an abortion or abortion insurance coverage. The bill provides exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the mother is endangered.

Throughout my years of public service, I have worked to protect the life of the unborn and will continue to do so. I earned a 100 percent pro-life record over 14 years of service in the Texas House of Representatives, and I have earned a 100 percent pro-life record with the National Right to Life for my work in the United States House of Representatives.

It is an honor and a privilege to represent you and Texas in the United States Congress.