.@SpeakerRyan‘s office sent 6 security guards to block delivery of 87K #IStandWithPP petitions telling Ryan not to defund Planned Parenthood pic.twitter.com/56QHwhjR2q
— Planned Parenthood (@PPact) January 6, 2017
When Planned Parenthood volunteers went to Ryan’s office at the Longworth House Office Building in Washington, D.C. to deliver 87,000 petitions opposing the defunding of Planned Parenthood on Friday afternoon, six security guards were sent out to tell them that his office was closed and that he would not be accepting the petitions.
2.1 million American women and men at or below 150% of the poverty level would lose their primary source of healthcare if this legislation gets passed.
Although it has been noted several times that Planned Parenthood provides several women’s health services, not just abortions (they only amount to 3% of Planned Parenthood’s services), House Speaker Paul Ryan confirmed on January 5th that Planned Parenthood could be defunded as early as next month, depending on how quickly Congress passes this bill. According to New York Magazine, this legislation doesn’t need a majority vote to pass because it is a part of the budget reconciliation process, rendering the bill highly likely to pass.
Should this bill pass, Planned Parenthood would lose about 40% of its funding.
