On Saturday, February 19, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that cut spending by 61 billion. The cuts in spending included an amendment that strips Planned Parenthood of any federal funding for the fiscal 2011 year.

Planned Parenthood said in a statement that it uses federal funding to provide services to 75 percent of its patients at clinics across the nation. The federal funding received over the years has been used to provide reproductive services including birth control, family planning counseling, treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and cancer screening services.

In the statement, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said, “in attacking Planned Parenthood, the House Republican leadership has launched an outrageous assault on the millions of Americans who rely on Planned Parenthood for primary and preventive health care, including lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings, annual exams, family planning visits, birth control, HIV testing, and more.”

The amendment was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, a Republican for Indiana’s 6th Congressional District. He has served in the House since 2001. The amendment, if passed in the Senate, would prohibit Planned Parenthood specifically from receiving any federal funds.

On Saturday, after the bill passed, Pence published a statement on his website about the amendment and his feelings towards Planned Parenthood. “This afternoon’s vote is a victory for taxpayers and a victory for life. By banning federal funding to Planned Parenthood, Congress has taken a stand for millions of Americans who believe their tax dollars should not be used to subsidize the largest abortion provider in America.”

In response, Planned Parenthood said the money it receives from the government does not directly fund abortions, because that it is against the law. Planned Parenthood also said that abortions only account for four percent of services utilized at their more than 800 clinics nationwide.

“This policy of attempting to undermine Planned Parenthood, the organization in the United States that does more than any other to encourage the use of contraception for those wanting to avoid pregnancy, certainly guarantees an increase in the number of unintended pregnancies.  It is difficult to understand why people who say they are opposed to abortion would do so much to undermine the family planning and contraception that helps prevent the need for it,” said Richards in a statement on the Planned Parenthood website.

The vote on the bill was extremely partisan. In a 235-189 vote, not a single Democrat voted in support, and they were joined by three Republicans in voting against it.

In addition, 100 members of Congress have signed a letter in support of Planned Parenthood continuing to receive federal funds. A section of the letter stated, “We are writing to strongly oppose efforts designed to undermine women’s access to basic, preventive health care and the women’s health providers they rely on in their communities.  In particular, we are deeply concerned about the impact that H.R. 217, the ‘Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act,’ [Rep. Pence’s companion, standalone bill] would have on American women and their families.  H.R. 217 is aimed squarely at Planned Parenthood health centers.”

Many Americans across the nation have expressed outrage over the amendment. On Saturday, February 26, a rally in support of Planned Parenthood will be held in Foley Square, in New York City.

Organizers are calling on all who are upset by the amendment to take action. On the Facebook event page, organizers stated, “Right now Congress has one agenda item: take away your access to reproductive health care. The U.S. House of Representatives has just voted to bar Planned Parenthood health centers from all federal funding for birth control, cancer screenings, HIV testing, and other lifesaving care. It is the most dangerous legislative assault in our history, and it cannot go unanswered. IT’S TIME TO FIGHT BACK!”

The rally is being supported by dozens of women’s health organizations including Family Planning Advocates of New York State, New York Civil Liberties Union and Women’s Media Center.

The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has also expressed his support of Planned Parenthood. On Tuesday afternoon, he joined with Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy and Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin in a conference call in an effort to prevent the bill from passing in the U.S. Senate.

Michelle Williams can be reached at [email protected].