Sen. Paul will try to force vote on Sunday to defund Planned Parenthood

Senator Rand Paul (R – KY) is trying to force a vote on taxpayer-funded abortions after the recent release of videos showing Planned Parenthood representatives negotiating aborted baby organ procurement and disposition.

Rand Paul and many other Republicans say that it is time to de-fund Planned Parenthood. on “Fox News Sunday” Paul said, “I really think the time has come in our country to have the debate on whether taxpayer money should still be spent on this.”

Paul will reportedly use a “discharge petition” to force a vote as members of Congress go into session on Sunday to vote on a transportation bill.

While Sen. Paul is optimistic, the tactic could easily fail.

Usually, a bill is only sent to the floor once it is voted “out of committee” by the committee members. Before that vote can take place, the bill must be put to a committee vote by the chair of that group. Paul’s approach would skip the committee chair and committee vote to bring it right to the floor.

A discharge petition requires that at least half of all Senators sign and would then allow a bill previously stalled in committee to be brought to the floor without the consent of the committee’s chair or members. This maneuver has only been used successful on major legislation twice in history and only in the House of Representatives.

All that would be required to stop the push is for a few republicans to simply not sign the petition.

This latest pro-life push in Congress is due to the release of two videos that show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the fees the group charges to provide the organs and the abortion procedures used to obtain the organs.

Pro-abortion groups say the videos were heavily-edited to cast the abortion industry in a negative light. Planned parenthood has apologized for “the tone” of the officials caught in the videos, but not the content.

Pro-life groups say the videos show that Planned Parenthood modifies the abortion procedure to procure organs that clients find desirable and that the fees paid are truly gainful. In one case, a Planned Parenthood director attempted to negotiate for a high-end exotic car in return for these services.