GOP Debate: Defund Planned Parenthood 

Republican presidential hopefuls used questions about Planned Parenthood "sting" videos during the first debate Thursday to discuss not only the party's goal of defunding the organization, but as a springboard for laying out their goals of limiting or repealing abortion across the country. 

Several Republicans pointed to their records of defunding Planned Parenthood in various states, saying they would do the same across the country. Gov. Scott Walker, who recently signed a 20-week abortion ban in Wisconsin, said he defunded the organization in the state more than four years ago, before any videos were released. Gov. Bobby Jindal said the videos influenced his defunding of Planned Parenthood in Louisiana – an announcement he made Monday. 

The videos, performed undercover by the anti-abortion group the Center for Medical Progress, appear to show Planned Parenthood employees discussing the sale of organs harvested after an abortion. Planned Parenthood has denied any wrongdoing, saying the videos were selectively edited and that any funds associated with the practice are meant to cover only expenses associated with transporting or shipping the tissue – an exchange that is legal under federal guidelines. 

Louisiana was one of three states that have defunded Planned Parenthood as a result of the "sting" videos. New Hampshire did so Wednesday, and Alabama's Gov. Robert Bentley, who is also a medical doctor with a degree in dermatology, announced Thursday that no more Medicaid funds would be going toward Planned Parenthood. Senate Republicans earlier this week attempted to defund the organization with a bill that would have pushed funding to other women's health care services but fell shy of the 60 votes necessary to avoid a filibuster when the measure was brought to the floor. 

During both the early debate and the late debate, only one candidate, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, specifically accused the organization of selling organs from abortions, saying it "rips up [body] parts and sells them like they're parts to a Buick." Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania said during the earlier debate that the videos showed Planned Parenthood was conducting partial-birth abortions, a procedure illegal under federal law but which Republicans and Democrats define differently. 

Though various candidates have accused Planned Parenthood of selling organs, they steered clear of the specific language of money exchange Thursday night, instead touting anti-abortion measures they have taken in their states and would plan to take if elected president.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush touted his record in Florida of defunding Planned Parenthood, saying that he created a "culture of life" in the state. Former New York Gov. George Pataki, whom the moderators called the "only pro-choice" GOP candidate during the early debate, said that the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling was the law of the land, but that he was "appalled" by abortion and that he believed as a Catholic that life begins at conception. He advocated banning abortions after 20 weeks, defunding Planned Parenthood and banning any taxpayer dollars from funding abortion. 

Planned Parenthood went on the offensive throughout the debate and after, sending information about candidates' anti-abortion measures and messages on other women's health issues. Ahead of the debate, Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, released a statement saying: “Every single candidate on stage tonight has the same losing agenda: They want to overturn Roe v. Wade, block Planned Parenthood from providing preventive health care to millions of women, cut back programs that have saved women $1.4 billion in birth control costs, and let insurance companies refuse to cover birth control and mammograms." 

The Democratic National Committee issued a statement during the debates saying: "Republicans have made it a top legislative priority to undermine women’s health by taking away a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, cutting family planning funding, or even access to contraception." 

Last year, Planned Parenthood received $528 million in government funding, which totals more than 40 percent of the organization's $1.3 billion in annual revenue. 

Though federal money does not go toward abortion, each state varies on how and whether it funds abortion through Medicaid, the government's joint state-federal program that covers low-income Americans. Title X is a federal program that also funds contraceptive services, pregnancy testing and counseling, and testing of low-income people for sexually transmitted diseases, but prohibits federal funds to be used for abortions. 

Because Medicaid accounts for 75 percent of government funding for Planned Parenthood, and because states receive a 90 percent reimbursement from the federal government for spending on family planning, cutting off federal dollars could take a significant toll on the organization's finances. Medicaid, through the Hyde Amendment, allows abortions to be funded in cases of rape, incest or to protect a woman's life, and 17 states have expanded their own definitions to include funding for abortions that are "medically necessary," taking on the cost of abortion without federal funding assistance. 

During the debate, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said one of the first things he would do if elected president would be to instruct the Department of Justice to open an investigation into the Planned Parenthood videos. He went on to say he would prosecute them for any criminal violations.

"I have been proud to fight ... and stand against Planned Parenthood, to defend life for my entire career," he said. Investigations prompted by the videos already are underway in at least 12 states. 

The topic of abortion more generally led to one of the most dramatic questions of the debate, when Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly asked Walker to explain his opposition top the procedure even in cases in which a woman's life was endangered.

"Would you really let a mother die rather than have an abortion, and with 83 percent of the American public in favor of a life exception, are you too out of the mainstream on this issue to win the general election?" she said.

Walker reiterated his anti-abortion beliefs, saying "that unborn child can be protected, and there are many other alternatives that can also protect the life of that mother."

"That’s been consistently proven," he said.

When Kelly asked Sen. Marco Rubio about exemptions for abortions in cases of rape, he said he never supported it. "I have never said that, and I have never advocated that," he said. "I have advocated that we pass a law that says all human life at every stage of development is worthy of protection."

Legislation Rubio introduced in 2013 would have put a ban on abortions after 20 weeks, but included exemptions in cases of rape and incest. Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who also participated in the second debate, backed the bill. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is among those vying for the Republican presidential nomination, wrote the bill. 

A Gallup poll from 2012 shows that 75 percent of Americans support abortion rights in cases of rape or incest, and 83 percent support it when the woman's life is at stake. Support for abortions during the first three months of pregnancy was at 60 percent, but dropped to 14 percent during the last three months of pregnancy, the poll showed. 

Fourteen states have passed laws that ban abortions after 20 weeks, according to NARAL Pro-Choice America. The 20-week period is based on a widely disputed contention about when a fetus can feel pain. Several studies suggest that fetuses do not develop the sensory system to feel pain until closer to 30 weeks into gestation. However, some medical professionals have testified that fetuses are capable of pain at 20 weeks or even earlier.

Pataki explained his reason behind a 20-week ban, saying because doctors say, "at 20 weeks that is a viable life inside the womb." 
 
Huckabee outlined perhaps the most extreme position.

"I think the next president ought to invoke the Fifth, and 14th amendments to the Constitution now that we clearly know that that baby inside the mother’s womb is a person at the moment of conception," he said during the late debate. "The reason we know that it is is because of the DNA schedule that we now have clear scientific evidence on." 

Billionaire Donald Trump was also asked about his evolving views on abortion. Kelly asked him about saying in 1999 that he was "very pro-choice" and supported partial-birth abortion, since  more recently he has said he was anti-abortion.

"I hate the concept of abortion," Trump replied, telling a story of a family friend who considered an abortion but decided to carry through with a pregnancy. "That child today is a total superstar," he said. "I am very, very proud to say that I am pro-life."