Zika funding stalled for third time over abortion funding

Funding to combat the spread of the Zika virus has taken on a political fight over funding abortion giant Planned Parenthood. A bill has passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, but failed in the U.S. Senate, for the third time, after it received a vote of 52-46, falling short of the necessary 60 votes.

As the Washington Examiner reported:

…The Democratic filibuster marks the third time party lawmakers have stood in the way of the GOP-authored bill.

Democratic lawmakers have refused to back the legislation because it strips more than half a billion dollars from a defunct Obamacare fund as well as more than $200 million from other unspent federal funds. Democrats also oppose the bill because the funding would not be distributed to clinics in Puerto Rico that are affiliated with Planned Parenthood, a women’s health care and abortion provider. And finally, they want the GOP to strike language in the bill that would allow spraying for mosquitos near water, which is banned under the Clean Water Act.

Planned Parenthood already receives $553.7 million annually in taxpayer funds. Despite funding increases, Planned Parenthood’s services providing legitimate healthcare and contraception have declined considerably while abortions increased, according to their own annual reports. This causes many to question why the abortion chain should be trusted with money for contraception to fight the Zika virus. Planned Parenthood also advocates for aborting babies whose mothers are affected with the Zika virus, as they may be born with microcephaly. However, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine casts doubts on the connection between microcephaly and the Zika virus.

NARAL Pro-Choice America has also criticized politicians who stand up for life when it comes to babies who may be born with such a disability — like pro-life Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), who is running for re-election, whom NARAL has attacked on social media. These attacks have also received media attention.

Although it was Democrats who opposed this Zika funding bill, Planned Parenthood and NARAL blamed Republicans for its failure:

Ironic tweets, since abortion — which these abortion industry giants have been trying to expand — kills children but does nothing to *actually* fight Zika, either.

Democrats have been opposing the Republican bill for months, as The Hill reported. They specifically object to the Hyde Amendment limiting abortion funding, as the 2016 Democratic Party Platform includes clear language to repeal the amendment. Despite opposition from some Democrats, a press release about the party platform bragged about such language supporting Planned Parenthood, abortion, and taxpayer funding for abortions.

In its 40 years of existence, the Hyde Amendment has saved at least one million lives.