U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Silt speaks Sept. 10, 2022, during the Club 20 Western Colorado Candidate Debates at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. Boebert debated her opponent Adam Frisch, a Western Slope Democrat. (William Woody for Colorado Newsline)
Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Silt introduced her first bill of the 118th Congress — the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, which would prohibit federal tax dollars from going to Planned Parenthood.
According to the bill text, about $235 million would be redirected to other community health centers that provide women’s health care services if the bill becomes law. The act would prohibit any of these centers that do receive funding from performing an abortion, with an exception for rape or incest, as well as circumstances that would put the pregnant person’s life at risk.
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“The nation’s largest abortion provider has no business receiving taxpayer dollars,” Boebert said in a news release. “Instead of funding Planned Parenthood, my bill will redirect this funding to community health centers that actually meet the health needs of women across the country.”
The bill would implement a one-year moratorium on federal funding for Planned Parenthood starting on the date it is enacted. It says funding would not be made available to any Planned Parenthood affiliates unless they certify they will not provide funding toward abortion during that period.
“We are not surprised that Boebert continues to sew chaos and dysfunction in Congress instead of focusing on affordable health care for her constituents,” Jack Teter, political director at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, said in an email. “Planned Parenthood is the proud primary care provider for thousands of people in Boebert’s district. We will continue caring for our patients — those who live in Colorado, and those who travel here from across the country to access the health care they need — and will not be distracted by this attention-seeking political stunt from someone who has never passed a single bill while in office.“
Fellow Colorado Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck of Windsor co-sponsored the bill, which is supported by the organizations Students for Life of America, the National Right to Life Committee, Heritage Action and Concerned Women for America.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 10:45 a.m., Jan. 23, 2023, to include a statement from Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
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