Republicans gear up to defund Planned Parenthood and tighten abortion laws

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Several presidential candidates want Congress to 'cut the cord' and choke off federal dollars flowing to the nation's largest abortion provider
Congressional leaders are ready to push for a law banning abortions after 20 weeks of gestation
Democrats on defense after undercover video showed Planned Parenthood medical chief discussing procurement of body parts for a private company
'We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that,' Dr. Deborah Nucatola said on tape, 'so I’m not gonna crush that part'
Planned Parenthood got $528 million in taxpayer funding last year, including government grants, contracts and Medicaid reimbursements

By David Martosko, Us Political Editor For Dailymail.com

Published: 12:16 EST, 17 July 2015 | Updated: 14:28 EST, 17 July 2015

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Top Republicans are feeling emboldened by a grisly undercover video that cranked up America's abortion wars this week, and are actively preparing to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding in the coming months.

An aide to a Republican senator predicted Friday morning, speaking on background, that the GOP will soon 'cut the cord' and choke off the group's taxpayer dollars.

GOP congressional leaders see a hot iron to strike following the release of grisly undercover footage that showed the group's medical director casually discussing, in between bites of lunch, how she tailors her abortion procedures so fetal body parts can be preserved for use by private companies.

It's against federal law to buy or sell human fetal tissue. The same law bars abortion providers from changing the timing or methods of their procedures in order to harvest such living tissue.

While some plan a push to defund the nation's largest abortion provider, others will target the procedure itself with a legislative effort to ban all abortions for pregnancies that have reached 20 weeks.

DEFUND: Sen. Rand Paul is pledging to strip all of Planned Parenthood's federal funding in the wake of a video scandal linking the group to the sale of fetal body parts

BUSTED: Dr. Deborah Nucatola, the abortion provider's medical director, was caught in a video sting

GRUESOME: A biologics company linked to Planned Parenthood advertises the sale of liver tissue from aborted human fetuses

Ten states have already barred the transfer of taxpayer dollars to the organization, according to the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony's List. That group includes Wisconsin, whose governor Scott Walker is the latest entrant in the 2016 presidential race.

'We defunded Planned Parenthood, which is particularly important these days in light of what we’ve seen on video,' Walker said during a campaign stop in Amherst, New Hampshire.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, another White House hopeful, said Friday morning that he aims to do the same thing next week in Washington, D.C.

In a statement, Paul's office said the 2016 contender will use 'all legislative vehicles at his disposal' to move the process forward.

'I am more appalled than ever by Planned Parenthood’s complete disregard for the sanctity of human life,' Paul said. 'The recent revelation that this taxpayer-funded organization is selling body parts of the unborn further proves that this agency deserves our scorn, not our tax dollars.'

'I plan to do whatever I can to stop them,' he added, 'and will introduce an amendment to pending Senate legislation to immediately strip every dollar of Planned Parenthood funding.'

Planned Parenthood director admits to selling fetus body parts

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has already banned his state from funding the abortion provider

Planned Parenthood Federation of America presidnet Cecile Richards apologized for Nucatola's tone, but not for her actions

The organization received more than $528 million in taxpayer funding last year. That came in the form of government grants and contracts, plus Medicaid reimbursements.

Federal and state taxpayer funding provides more than 40 per cent of its funding.

Planned Parenthood has grown from a single New York City birth control clinic opened by eugenics supporter Margaret Sanger in 1921 into a $1 billion organization with 820 clinics where 300,000 abortions are performed each year.

Its supporters maintain that abortion services represent only 3 per cent of its operating costs, compared with more than one-third that's spent on preventing pregnancies.

Still, the video from the newly launched Center for Medical Progress has done its damage.

Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthod's senior medical director, was filmed last year during a lunch meeting discussing how the organization provides fetal tissue on demand to companies that are willing to pay a fee for its storage and delivery.

'You’re just kind of cognizant of where you put your graspers,' Nucatola told undercover actors posing as buyers, describing abortions she had recently performed.

'You try to intentionally go above and below the thorax, so that, you know, we’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that – so I’m not gonna crush that part, I’m going to basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.'

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards issued a videotaped statement on Thursday apologizing for Nicatola's 'tone' but not disavowing the practice.

While the political theatre plays out, others in Congress are seeing an opportunity to strike a blow for pro-lifers that transcends hanging Planned Parenthood's scalp on their wall.

HEARINGS: House Speaker John Boehner is calling for congressional hearings to determine whether Planned Parenthood broke federal law

'The gravity of the situation most definitely' creates a new kind of situation, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, told Politico on Thursday.

'This is not just Republicans. It’s independents. It’s Democrats. ... Americans don’t want their tax dollars spent doing what they’re doing.'

Three separate congressional committees are now investigating: The House and Senate Judiciary Committees and the House Enercy & Commerce Committee.

House Speaker John Boehner lashed out Tuesday at the idea that a taxpayer-funded group could turn unborn babies into financial transactions.

'Nothing is more precious than life, especially an unborn child,' Boehner said in a statement.

'When anyone diminishes an unborn child, we are all hurt, irreversibly so. When an organization monetizes an unborn child – and with the cavalier attitude portrayed in this horrific video – we must all act.'

Planned Parenthood apologise for 'tone' in covert video

Alabama GOP Rep. Martha Roby summed up the anger of conservatives in the House with a floor speech Tuesday in which she said Nucatola's 'casual, callous' discussion of harvesting fetal livers was 'simply horrifying.'

'These aren't specimens,' she exclaimed. 'These are babies!'

While lawmakers squabble over whether Planned Parenthood should continue to receive federal dollars, and conservatives plot behind the scenes to turn the scandal into momentum to ban abortions in more circumstances, the embattled organization is playing defense.

The group said Thursday that if pregnant women give their permission, fetal tissue can be used in stem cell research.

Planned Parenthood insisted, however, that its independently controlled affiliate clinics don't profit from the exchange.

'There is no financial benefit for tissue donation for either the patient or for Planned Parenthood," Eric Ferrero, the organization's communications VP said in a statement.

'In some instances, actual costs, such as the cost to transport tissue to leading research centers, are reimbursed which is standard across the medical field.'