SALT LAKE CITY -- For Utah Senator Mike Lee, the fight to take federal funding from Planned Parenthood is a clear moral issue after videotape recently became public showing a national Planned Parenthood official talking about the sale of fetuses for medical research.
"In the struggle between Planned Parenthood and its victims, President Obama and his party have sided with a rich and violent special interest group over the innocent women they exploit, the tiny children they mutilate, and the vulnerable communities they poison," said Lee, R-Utah, in a speech on the Senate Floor on Wednesday.
His fight could stall the passage of a federal continuing resolution to allow the government to continue functioning without a budget. The possibility of a government shutdown has much of Washington D.C. on edge.
Utah State Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-District 24, supports Planned Parenthood. She said the reproductive services it performs help lower the number of abortions.
"Research shows that when you provide comprehensive reproductive health services, those are the type of things that actually reduce the need for abortions," Chavez-Houck said.
