Rep. Black Slams Finalized Obama Admin Rule Benefitting Planned Parenthood
Dec 14, 2016 Issues: Defunding Planned Parenthood, Pro-Life
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06), a registered nurse and member of the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives, responded today to the Obama Administration’s finalized rule effectively preventing states from defunding Planned Parenthood. Black was among the first to condemn the rule when it was initially proposed in September and led more than 100 members of Congress on a bipartisan, bicameral letter opposing the rule earlier this year. She released the following statement:
“With this rule, we see an administration that has become unglued at the knowledge of the impending pro-life sea change in Washington, DC. President Obama knows that hope is rising for the innocent victims of Planned Parenthood’s brutality and the big abortion industry’s days of taxpayer-funded windfalls are numbered. We should not be surprised that his administration would lash out with this eleventh hour power grab on the way out the door, but I am certain this rule will not stand for long,” said Congressman Diane Black. “Come next year, our pro-life majorities in Congress will be positioned to work with President-Elect Trump and pro-life nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Tom Price, to not only roll back this latest overreach but also to enact new legal protections for these most vulnerable members of our society. The Obama Administration will not have the last word. With this new year comes renewed opportunity to fight for the dignity of every unborn child, the wellbeing of every struggling mother, and the conscience rights of every American taxpayer.”
Background:
The New York Times describes the Obama Administration’s finalized rule as “bar[ring] states from withholding federal family-planning funds from Planned Parenthood affiliates and other health clinics that provide abortions.” A leader in the fight to defund Planned Parenthood since her first days in public service, Congressman Diane Black authored the House-passed Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 and wrote about this rule’s true intent earlier this year in an op-ed for FoxNews.com. In September, she joined with Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) to lead more than 100 members of Congress on a bicameral, bipartisan letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) demanding answers on the rule’s justification. When HHS failed to provide a substantive response, Congressman Black and Senator Ernst sent a follow up letter on November 28th requesting a thorough reply before the end of the year.
###
