Lawmakers Introduce Two Bills to Congress Calling for Defunding of Planned Parenthood

Two bills introduced to the U.S. Congress this week would prevent Planned Parenthood from using taxpayer money for one year, unless the organization could prove the taxpayer money wasn't being used to carry out abortions.

The Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 was introduced into the House this week by Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), while a similar bill was introduced into the Senate by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.).

While introducing the legislation on Tuesday evening, Black said Planned Parenthood is an organization that "has blood on its hands."

"Mister Speaker, Planned Parenthood has blood on its hands. Over the last week, we've seen multiple videos showing its employees brazenly discussing the harvesting of aborted babies' tissue and organs. But the truth is, Planned Parenthood's culture of depravity runs much deeper than a couple of videos," Black said.

The two pieces of legislation are just parts of an overall attempt by lawmakers to raise questions about Planned Parenthood and its use of aborted fetal body parts.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul have both said they will support amendments that would fast-track a vote on defunding Planned Parenthood on a federal level.

Paul said he will "use all legislative vehicles at his disposal" to call for a vote in the coming weeks on the defunding of Planned Parenthood.

Also this week, twelve GOP lawmakers called on Congress to carry out an investigation on Planned Parenthood to ensure the abortion provider was not profiting off of the sale of aborted fetal body parts.

Two undercover videos released in the past two weeks by the activist group Center for Medical Progress show Planned Parenthood executives discussing the costs associated with removing and processing aborted fetal tissue.