House bills on abortion aim to avert possible gov't shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to avert a government shutdown, Republican leaders are hoping to contain conservatives' demands for a politically risky showdown with President Barack Obama by striking a quick blow against abortion and Planned Parenthood.
The vote followed a no-holds-barred debate that included a graphic, poster-size photo of a scarred, aborted fetus and underscored how abortion has resurfaced as a white-hot political issue.
The issue's re-emergence followed the release of secretly recorded videos of Planned Parenthood officials offhandedly discussing how they sometimes procure tissue from aborted fetuses for medical research.
Long unhappy with Boehner and other GOP leaders for not being confrontational enough, some in his party have threatened to force a House vote on removing him from his post if he backs down on this or other upcoming fights over federal borrowing and spending.
Once defeated, that would likely be followed by a measure temporarily financing government, perhaps into December, that would include Planned Parenthood funds and buy time to resolve disputes over spending, abortion and other issues.
Planned Parenthood spokesman Eric Ferrero called the two House-passed bills "a callous attempt to insert politics into women's health."