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The protests will
target some of the 217 Republican representatives who voted to
pass legislation on Thursday that would repeal and replace the
Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, the healthcare law passed in
2010 under former President Barack Obama.
"We're standing together as women, people of color, immigrants,
and as people of faith, and we're fighting back to make sure
that every single politician in America knows that we will not
stand for 'defunding' Planned Parenthood," Kelly Robinson, the
national organizing director of the Planned Parenthood Action
Fund, said in a statement.
The bill still needs approval by the U.S. Senate. President
Donald Trump, a Republican, praised the bill's passage in the
House but acknowledged that some of its provisions may change
before it becomes law.
A part of the Republicans' proposed American Health Care Act
would prevent Planned Parenthood from being reimbursed for any
of its services, including cancer screening and pre-natal care,
through the Medicaid program for the poor. About 60 percent of
the patients who use Planned Parenthood's 600 or so clinics are
on Medicaid or other federal public health programs.
Republican congressional offices from coast to coast were
targeted on Friday, with protests planned at the offices of
Representatives Rodney Frelinghuysen in Morristown, New Jersey,
Kevin Yoderice in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, and Darrell Issa in
Vista, California, among others.
Many Republicans oppose any funding for Planned Parenthood,
citing religious grounds, because its services include
abortions, although it receives no federal funding or
reimbursement for abortions, as stipulated by federal law.
The Family Research Council, a Christian advocacy group, and
other conservative policy groups praised the House bill as a
tool to help limit access to abortions.
Planned Parenthood says the bill would harm 2.5 million people
who rely on it for basic health services.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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