With Donald Trump and Mike Pence in office, Congressional Republicans who’ve long wanted to defund Planned Parenthood see their best chance yet.
Earlier this month, House Speaker Paul Ryan said at a CNN town hall, “We don’t want to commit taxpayer funding for abortion. And Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider.”
Planned Parenthood gets more than 40% of its funding from federal, state and local governments — most of it through Medicaid reimbursements.
Federal dollars can’t be used for abortion, except in extreme cases. Ryan’s thinking, though, is that may not matter. Federal funds support the organization.
OPB All Things Considered host Kate Davidson spoke with Stacy Cross, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, about what the impact of defunding would be in Oregon. Listen to their full conversation by clicking play in the audio player at the top of this article.