Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS

Pro-abortion lawmakers took a huge risk last night when voting in support of continued funding for Planned Parenthood, especially before the potentially damning evidence yet to be discovered in state investigations has come to light – and with a presidential election year right around the corner!

LifeSiteNews is reporting on the failure of the U.S. Senate to pass a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood. The 53-46 vote on the bill from Iowa Republican Joni Ernst fell largely along party lines but did not reach the threshold of 60 votes which is required for stand-alone bills.

However, even had the bill passed, President Obama promised to veto it and almost no one believes pro-life lawmakers could reach the 66 vote threshold needed to override a presidential veto.

Because the Senate will break for summer recess at the end of the week, the battle to defund Planned Parenthood has now been deferred to the fall session.

Even though some pro-life leaders are demanding that pro-life lawmakers attach a bill to defund Planned Parenthood to a must-pass piece of legislation in the next session, there are other options that might be more politically expedient in an election year.

For instance, in addition to a Congressional investigation that is already underway, Planned Parenthood’s fetal body parts business is also being investigated by several states. Even if the courts manage to stop the Center for Medical Progress from releasing any more undercover videos, state and federal investigators will be able to obtain additional footage. These videos are likely to contain even more damning evidence that Planned Parenthood and clinics associated with the National Abortion Federation have been breaking the law in the procurement and sale of fetal body parts.

Should this be the case, this evidence will likely be released to the public during a presidential election year when lawmakers are scrambling for votes in their home states. Those who voted in support of continued funding for Planned Parenthood will find themselves faced with an angry public demanding to know why they are continuing to give a half billion dollars a year to an organization that engages in such immoral activity.

And by then, they public will be well-aware of one of the most important revelations to come out of the debate thus far – women’s health care doesn’t depend on whether or not there’s a Planned Parenthood in their neighborhood.

“I think it’s really important to understand that all of this is about denying women access to health care in this country,” said Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards last night on MSNBC. “And the vote tonight will actually be about denying women access to birth control, cancer screenings, testing and treatment for many women where Planned Parenthood is their only doctor.”

But that simply isn’t true. Many Americans are learning, for the first time, that community health centers, who would receive the funds allocated to the abortion giant, outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities by 13-to-one!

“There are 9,000 Community Health Center sites located in almost every single Congressional District,” said Kirsten Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of American (DFLA). “They vastly outnumber the 700 Planned Parenthood facilities and provide fuller services for families. We want to ensure that women still have access to the services and support they need.”

Planned Parenthood isn’t the only game in town and is, in fact, a small player compared to the vast network of abortion-free health care facilities that are already providing women’s health care needs.

In other words, Planned Parenthood’s number one talking point is finally beginning to unravel.

And the more Planned Parenthood supporters parrot those disingenuous facts, the less palatable they will become to the public.

The other good news to come out of last night’s vote is the fact that there is a growing number of pro-life advocates on the hill.

“When the Senate last voted to defund Planned Parenthood” in 2011, “only 42 voted for it,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List.

She goes on to warn: “The Center for Medical Progress has released less than half of its damning evidence of brutality and callousness at Planned Parenthood and, as more videos are made public, outrage will surely grow.”

In the meantime, their legislative strategy is two-fold: “We will support all aggressive efforts this fall to get taxpayers out of Planned Parenthood’s profit-driven, abortion-centered enterprise. The Senate must also press on with a vote on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would save lives by literally taking some children off of the table for vivisection after five months.”

Now is not the time for pro-abortion lawmakers and presidential candidates to double-down on their support for Planned Parenthood. The baby parts scandal has the potential of doing serious damage to the coffers of the U.S. abortion industry and abortion supporters on the Hill need to start looking for life vests.

Unless they’re willing to stake their political fortunes on the outcome of this sordid story, they’re likely to go down with the ship.

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