Paul Ryan: Obamacare repeal bill will also accomplish another major conservative objective

Speaker Paul Ryan indicated on Thursday that the reconciliation bill the House of Representatives will use to vote to repeal Obamacare would also defund Planned Parenthood.

“Planned Parenthood legislation would be in our reconciliation bill,” the Wisconsin Republican said during his weekly press conference when asked when the House planned to vote to defund the pro-choice organization.

Budgetary reconciliation bills only need a majority vote to pass.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, praised Ryan’s remarks in a statement.

“Planned Parenthood is America’s largest abortion provider, performing over 300,000 abortions per year,” Dannenfelser said. “Today’s commitment by Speaker Ryan to re-direct the abortion giant’s taxpayer funding to community health centers is a victory for women’s health care. Community health centers provide far more services than Planned Parenthood and outnumber them 20-to-1 nationwide.”

“We commend Speaker Paul Ryan on his continued resolve to fund women’s health care, not abortion. His pro-life, pro-woman resolve is shared by Majority Leader [Mitch] McConnell and President-elect [Donald] Trump, and we are confident Congress will get this important legislation to the president's desk for his signature after the inauguration,” she added.

On Twitter, Planned Parenthood President and CEO Cecile Richards pledged “one hell of a fight” to block Republicans' efforts.

Ryan’s remarks follow the House Select Panel on Infant Lives’ final report. The panel investigated and said it confirmed allegations that Planned Parenthood was profiting from the sale of aborted fetal body parts, claims the abortion provider denied.

The panel issued 15 criminal referrals during the course of its investigation, including for Planned Parenthood affiliates and other abortion clinics, tissue procurement companies such as StemExpress, the University of New Mexico and a “late-term abortionist” in Texas.