"The nation's largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood makes 43 percent of its $1.3 billion budget from beleaguered taxpayers," said AUL's Dr. Charmaine Yoest. "It's time to redirect the money to true healthcare needs for women and children."

Contact: Kristi Hamrick, 202-289-1478, press@aul.org

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2016 /Standard Newswire/ -- Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest commended the U.S. House for passing H.R. 3762, the "Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act," as amended by the Senate, to disentangle the American taxpayer from forced funding of the abortion industry. "During the healthcare debate, we learned that 7 in 10 Americans did not want their hard earned money to pay for abortions. Americans United for Life thanks the members of the U.S. House for respecting the taxpayers' wishes, and urges President Obama to sign the bill into law," said Dr. Yoest. "While we know that it's unlikely that the President will respect the majority of Americans who do not want to be forced into business with the abortion industry, this vote shows that the framework is there to defund Big Abortion with a pro-life president."

In a letter to the U.S. House before the vote, Dr. Yoest noted that the shocking Center for Medical Progress videos, showing Planned Parenthood doctors and personnel coldly discussing the sale and dismemberment of aborted infants, was one of many reasons to end taxpayer dollars from supporting the abortion industry.

She wrote: "Planned Parenthood's Senior Medical Director, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, discussed in one of the videos how she strategically 'crushes' the babies she aborts in order to best harvest their hearts, lungs and livers. These videos shed light for the American people to see Planned Parenthood for what it truly is, the abortion industry that puts profits ahead of anything else. The recorded conversations also raise serious concern that Planned Parenthood may be violating federal fetal tissue trafficking laws, the Partial Birth Abortion Ban—a law that Planned Parenthood's Dr. Nucatola flippantly describes as 'open to interpretation'—and the federal Born Alive Infant Protection Act. As Americans United for Life has documented, Planned Parenthood's harvesting of baby body parts is one of a growing list of scandals that should make Planned Parenthood ineligible for the tremendous amount of taxpayer dollars it takes in annually."

In its 2015 fiscal year, Planned Parenthood reported that 43% of its nearly $1.3 billion in revenue came at the taxpayers' expense. A report issued by the Government Accountability Office in March 2015 documented that Planned Parenthood receives half a billion dollars annually from federal and joint federal-state programs.

"The federal government has a responsibility to the American people to ensure the integrity of these programs," said Dr. Yoest.

To learn more about Planned Parenthood's scandal-ridden business model, click here. 

Americans United for Life (AUL) is the legal architect of the pro-life movement. We are accumulating victories, building momentum, and advancing a culture of life in America. Our vision is a nation in which everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law. The first national pro-life organization in America, AUL has been committed to defending human life since 1971.