Washington Sen. Patty Murray went to Seattle's Planned Parenthood clinic Friday to warn of a government shutdown -- less than two weeks away.
This comes as the Republican majority in Congress voted on Friday to take away federal funds from the clinics.
Democrat Murray is one of Congress's most steadfast supporters of Planned Parenthood and the federal money it gets to provide health care for women.
“We're not going to let Republicans use the budget process to jam an extreme policy through,” Sen. Murray said.
The hidden camera videos shot by opponents of Planned Parenthood dominated this week’s Republican presidential debate.
“These Planned Parenthood videos are horrifying. I would encourage every American to watch these videos,” said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
“Watch a fully formed fetus, on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking,” said former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.
However, CBS News and the Washington Post report there is no such video on the Planned Parenthood tapes.
The Republican majority in the House voted to defund Planned Parenthood for a year -- knowing Senate Democrats like Murray will block such a move.
“They should not be taking hostage any political issue, particularly women's health, and move us past our shutdown date of Oct. 1,” Murray said.
Planned Parenthood says 95 percent of its work is in health screening and birth control, and that only 3 percent is abortions.
No federal money can be spent on abortion except in dire circumstances such as rape or incest.
Planned Parenthood here says it gets $3.2 million in federal funding for women’s health services, and that its clinics were not involved in fetal tissue donations.
KIRO
