A Shocking Lack of Compassion

                    

Sen. Deb Fischer

 

Many of you have been following the horrible revelations in the news about Planned Parenthood. The footage detailing their callous role in the harvesting of baby body parts is alarming and potentially illegal. Moreover, comments on these videos stating that certain doctors are intentionally altering the method of abortion by moving bodies within the womb to obtain organs suggest a clear violation of the law.

Americans are right to be outraged by the lack of compassion for these women and their unborn children. This is an organization that receives over half a billion dollars in taxpayer funding each year. Something needs to be done.

Throughout my time in public service, I have been committed to supporting common-sense, pro-life measures that offer compassion for women and unborn children in difficult circumstances.

Nebraska was the first state in the country to pass a 20-week abortion ban, which I supported as a state senator. That legislation passed by an overwhelming vote of 44 to 5. Pro-life and pro-choice senators came together and supported the bill because it was good policy.

In the U.S. Senate, I am a cosponsor of a similar bill, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. According to numerous studies and medical experts, this is the point at which unborn children are capable of feeling pain. The majority of the American people support limits on late term abortions. This reasonable policy adopted by the Nebraska legislature should now be adopted at the federal level.

Meanwhile, the Planned Parenthood scandal deserves decisive action. We must put an end to these horrific practices. For this reason, I joined Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa and several of our colleagues to introduce legislation that would halt funding for this organization. Our bill would ensure that taxpayer dollars are redirected to state and local health departments, community health centers, and hospitals that provide women’s health care services. The services include, but are not limited to: diagnostic laboratory and radiology services, well-child care, prenatal and postnatal care, immunizations, and cervical and breast cancer screenings.

In Nebraska, there are six federally-qualified health centers and 36 clinic sites that have served over 64,000 people. From Omaha to the panhandle these centers provide care across our state. Ultimately, our bill directs federal funding where it should be: supporting women’s health, not Planned Parenthood.

Targeting this funding is not enough. Planned Parenthood’s actions require a thorough and careful investigation. For that reason, I recently joined 49 of my Senate colleagues in a letter to HHS Secretary Burwell, drawing attention to the legal, ethical, and policy issues raised by these videos. In our letter, we called on Secretary Burwell to cooperate with ongoing and future investigations into these practices.

I hope you will continue to follow this issue and voice your concerns as we move forward.

Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.