Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee voted in favor of a bill that would block federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
The bill was a reaction to the uproar surrounding several videos that have been released about Planned Parenthood’s donations of fetal tissue and questions about whether or not they do it legally. Its goal was to transfer federal funding that normally goes to Planned Parenthood to community health centers. While the bill failed in the Senate, Hatch says the vote was just the beginning of his efforts against the organization.
“I think the public is gradually turning," he says. "When you see that these people are killing these babies before they're born and taking body parts from them, it’s just horrible. I don’t know how the American people can put up with that.”
Karrie Galloway is the CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah. She says Hatch’s attempt to defund her organization is just the latest of many attacks he’s launched over the years.
“At the beginning of this smear attack they talked about having an investigation at the congressional level," she says. "It’s interesting they took a vote last night before there’s been any investigation."
Galloway says that even if congress does investigate, they’ll find that Planned Parenthood hasn’t done anything that’s illegal. Planned Parenthood Association of Utah has nine health centers in the state that provide reproductive health services such as STD screenings and abortions to more than 50,000 people.