Last updated on: 12/10/2015 11:38:10 AM PST
Should Planned Parenthood Receive Federal Funding?
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"Republicans like Scott Walker and Jeb Bush are calling to defund Planned Parenthood, the country's leading provider of reproductive health care... If this feels like a full-on assault on women's health, that's because it is. When politicians talk about defunding Planned Parenthood, they're talking about blocking millions of women, men, and young people from live-saving preventive care: cancer screenings, breast exams, birth control...
I'm proud to stand with Planned Parenthood, I'll never stop fighting to protect the ability and right of every woman in this country to make her own health decisions."
Source: Hillary Clinton, Twitter post, twitter.com/HillaryClinton, Aug. 3, 2015
Pro
"Look, they [Republicans] want to spend more money on military but they want to cut it from social programs, from healthcare. Look, it's got to be a balanced approach when it comes to government spending with regard to everything. Am I opposed, I’m opposed to cutting the funding, or eliminating funding, to Planned Parenthood. Look, but Planned Parenthood has to take cuts just along with everybody else or we're going to find ourselves in a really perilous situation."
Source: Larry King, "Libertarian Presidential Hopeful Gary Johnson on Libertarian-at-Heart Voters," youtube.com, Feb. 18, 2016
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Con (No)
Now Con
"I'm against it. I'm for defunding Planned Parenthood, very strongly. And that's really become, that's been such a big subject lately, especially when you're looking on television and you're seeing, you know, some of those clips that are terrible—so I'm totally for defunding. We shouldn't be giving to Planned Parenthood."
Source: Last Night Today, "Donald Trump Speech Holds Rally in Newton, IA 11/19/15 (Full)," www.youtube.com, Nov. 19, 2015
[Editor's Note: Trump previously expressed a NOT CLEARLY PRO OR CON opinion on this question. Read Trump's former position on Planned Parenthood]
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None Found
No position found as of Apr. 27, 2016
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FORMER CANDIDATES
(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear below in black and white and in alphabetical order.)
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"Planned Parenthood provides critical health care services to millions of women. Today's vote to defund is wrong."
Source: Martin O'Malley, Facebook post, Facebook.com/MartinOMalley, Aug. 3, 2015
Pro
"The attempt by Senate Republicans to cut off support for Planned Parenthood is an attack on women’s health. Stripping funding for Planned Parenthood would punish the 2.7 million Americans, especially low-income women, who rely on its clinics for affordable, quality health care services including cancer prevention, STI and HIV testing and general primary health care services.
The current attempt to discredit Planned Parenthood is part of a long-term smear campaign by people who want to deny women in this country the right to control their own bodies.
Let’s be clear: Federal funding for Planned Parenthood does not pay for abortions. The vast majority of government funding that Planned Parenthood receives is through Medicaid reimbursements. Cutting that funding will be devastating to the health needs of millions of women who desperately need the quality services Planned Parenthood provides."
Source: Bernie Sanders, "Sanders Statement on Planned Parenthood," sanders.senate.gov, July 29, 2015
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Con (No)
Con
"With regards to women's health funding broadly, I misspoke, as there are countless community health centers, rural clinics, and other women's health organizations that need to be fully funded. They provide critical services to all, but particularly low-income women who don’t have the access they need.
I was referring to the hard-to-fathom $500 million in federal funding that goes to Planned Parenthood – an organization that was callously participating in the unthinkable practice of selling fetal organs. Democrats and Republicans agree we absolutely must defund them and redirect those funds to other women's health organizations."
Source: Jeb Bush, "Jeb Bush Statement on Federal Funding for Planned Parenthood,” jeb2016.com, Aug. 4, 2015
Con
"Congress: Stop funding Planned Parenthood
I, like many of you, was sickened when I saw the video of Dr. Deborah Nucatola of Planned Parenthood secretly video taped discussing selling aborted baby parts. I was more than sickened, I was enraged.
Congress must act NOW! Please sign my petition to Congress demanding that they stop all public funds to Planned Parenthood.
I spent my whole life caring for children. What I see in this video is barbaric. Congress must ACT!
We the undersigned insist that our tax dollars not be used in any way with Planned Parenthood in light of their Baby Organ Harvesting Programs.
Please act immediately to stop the transfer of federal dollars to Planned Parenthood."
Source: Ben Carson for President 2016, "Congress: Stop Funding Planned Parenthood," www.bencarson.com (accessed Dec. 5, 2015)
Con
"Now, with the most recent revelation, there's even more reason not to fund Planned Parenthood. I've vetoed funding for Planned Parenthood and if I were president of the United States I would do exactly the same. This is the difference between the folks in Washington D.C. and the people who have governorships... I defunded Planned Parenthood in New Jersey six years ago we've defunded it every year for the last six years."
Source: Matt Arco, "Christie Vows to Defund Planned Parenthood If Elected President," nj.com, July 20, 2015
Con
"Planned Parenthood receives about 45% of its funding from government sources. Planned Parenthood has performed more than a million abortions over the past three years, and its work accounts for nearly one-third of all abortions in the United States…
For far too long, Planned Parenthood has hidden behind the well-crafted charade that that it exists to protect women's health. In reality, it is in the business of killing unborn children on an industrial scale…
I intend to lead the fight in the United States Senate to defund Planned Parenthood."
Source: Ted Cruz, "Cruz: End Planned Parenthood funding," usatoday.com, Aug. 20, 2015
Con
"Planned Parenthood is aborting fetuses alive to harvest their brains and body parts. That is a fact... And, taxpayers are paying for it... It must be stopped...
I believe if the president of the United States and Democrats are willing to stand up and defend what is roughly a $500 million to $600 million line item in the budget -- if they are willing to stand up and defend this practice [alleged harvesting of body parts from fetuses] and shut down the government over it, then let them explain it to the American people...
But I believe this is something we must stand up and fight for because it is about the character of our nation. Taxpayers are funding this activity, and not only that, not only are taxpayers having to fund this butchery, but Planned Parenthood doles out millions of dollars every single election cycle to Democrat candidates."
Source: Meet the Press, NBC News, Sep. 27, 2015
Con
"I wholly support the defunding of Planned Parenthood today and in the future. As president, I pledge I would never send a budget to Capitol Hill that contains a penny of funding for Planned Parenthood. Abortion related services comprise over 94 percent of Planned Parenthood’s business. We can kill their funding while maintaining a robust commitment to providing access to important preventative medicine and prenatal services.
Organizations that harvest body parts from unborn children is neither Planned Parenthood nor right and should not receive any support from the Federal Government. I’m running for president to create a culture of respect for human life and look forward to not only eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood, but also ending abortions at 20 weeks when a child can feel pain."
Source: Lindsey Graham 2016, "Statement in Response to Today's Vote to Defund Planned Parenthood," www.lindseygraham.com, Aug. 3, 2015
Con
"Washington's priorities are pathetic and absolutely absurd. More than 300,000 of our veterans have died waiting for healthcare, while Washington prioritizes pumping $500 million into Planned Parenthood each year… Our country is $19 trillion in the hole and Planned Parenthood had a surplus of $127 million last year. Clearly this private entity does NOT need public taxpayer funding to function… Planned Parenthood isn't purely a 'healthcare provider' any more than a heroin dealer is a community pharmacist. Butchering babies and harvesting their organs to be swapped and sold is evil. I join with millions of fed-up and frustrated Americans who are disgusted that Washington uses our tax dollars to fund this despicable organization."
Source: Alex Swoyer, "Exclusive: Mike Huckabee: Washington's Priorities 'Pathetic' Funding Planned Parenthood as Veterans Die Waiting for Healthcare," www.breitbart.com, Sep. 30, 2015
Con
"[John Kasich:] I'm for getting rid of all this Planned Parenthood funding and to be able to shift it to other kinds of family planning institutions... Fight like crazy to defund Planned Parenthood. Most people in America, I think, would agree that as long as family planning can occur somewhere else, get rid of the funding for that organization.
[J.D. Hayworth:] So, when President Kasich delivers his first budget to lawmakers, it will eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood.
[John Kasich:] Oh, yeah, absolutely. No doubt about it. Absolutely. We're trying to do it in Ohio. We put it at the back of the pack so some of them haven’t gotten funding and, in addition to that, I'd like them to give us the ability to take the money out of Medicaid that goes to those institutions."
Source: Bill Hoffman, "Kasich: 'Fight Like Crazy to Defund Planned Parenthood,' but Don’t Close down Govt," www.newsmax.com, Sep. 28, 2015
Con
"I think it is important to know there are 9,000 community health centers across the country which do everything that Planned Parenthood does except for abortion.
There is absolutely no need for public funding of Planned Parenthood. There's no excuse for it and we should end all funding for Planned Parenthood."
Source: Rand Paul, "Dr. Rand Paul Urges Support for Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood at Press Conference," paul.senate.gov, July 29, 2015
Con
"The cruel and callous language used by senior Planned Parenthood officials is sickening, shows a complete disregard for innocent unborn life, not to mention Planned Parenthood's clients, and speaks to an organization that is morally bankrupt. There is simply no justification for an organization that fosters this kind of culture to receive a penny of taxpayer funding..."
Source: Marco Rubio, "Rubio Joins Ernst's Bipartisan Effort Urging HHS Secretary to Comply with Planned Parenthood Investigations, Conduct Assessment to Facilitate Congressional Review," rubio.senate.gov, July 22, 2015
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