Protecting Planned Parenthood Funding Was Why 2 GOP Senators Voted No on ACA Repeal

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: Aug 08, 2017

Protecting Planned Parenthood Funding Was Why 2 GOP Senators Voted No on ACA Repeal

Republican lawmakers have tried and failed three times to pass legislation that would repeal and/or replace Obamacare. The most recent time they voted on a healthcare bill, known as “Skinny Repeal,” they were thwarted by three senators within their own ranks.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) cast the deciding vote in the healthcare repeal bill and Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) also voted against it.

In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Murkowski and Collins discussed why they voted no on the repeal bill.

Ultimately, they each said that they did what they thought was best for their constituents in Alaska and Maine, respectively. Part of what they believed to be best for those constituents was not defunding Planned Parenthood, which the Skinny Repeal bill would have done.

"The issue of family planning services, cancer screenings, and women care probably does resonate with us more than it does with our male colleagues, and to me it was so unfair to single out one Medicaid provider and say to women in particular, ‘You can't choose which health care provider you want to go to,'” Collins explained.

Townhall.com also notes that Murkowski’s support for Planned Parenthood comes as no surprise since in June she penned a letter to an Alaskan constituent ensuring them that she was “committed” to protecting funding for Planned Parenthood.

 

Photo: President Donald Trump (4th L) speaks as (L-R) Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) listen during a meeting with Senate Republicans at the East Room of the White House June 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump invited all GOP Senate members to the White House to discuss the Health Care bill

Photo courtesy: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Publication date: August 8, 2017



Protecting Planned Parenthood Funding Was Why 2 GOP Senators Voted No on ACA Repeal