The U.S. House is expected to vote Friday on a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood for one year. All of Missouri’s Republican House members are co-sponsoring the bill, including east central Missouri’s Blaine Luetkemeyer.
Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) Photo courtesy of US House of Representatives
“By having this moratorium, it would give us time to further study to see what in the world is going on with Planned Parenthood. This is one of many steps that we are going to try and take. There’s another bill or two out there. We’ll continue to look at other budgetary ways to stop it,” said Luetkemeyer.
Luetkemeyer thinks there are enough votes in the House to pass the bill but he’s not sure what will happen in the Senate or if there are enough votes to override a possible Presidential veto.
Several undercover videos with Planned Parenthood officials have called into question the organization’s operations, including its fetal tissue donation program. The organization is arguing that the videos are highly-edited and are misleading. Planned Parenthood officials say the organization has not broken any laws.
The country faces a government shutdown on October 1 if Congress doesn’t come up with a temporary spending fix by September 30. Some Republicans are threatening to block a budget deal if it includes financing for Planned Parenthood. Luetkemeyer said negotiations are in progress.
Missouri state lawmakers are also investigating Planned Parenthood to determine if any violations have occurred in the state. The Senate’s “Sanctity of Life” committee learned that the state Department of Health does not know what happens to fetal remains after they are examined in the preparation of a pathology report.
