2016 presidential candidates on defunding Planned Parenthood

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After the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) released a series of secretly recorded videos that showed employees of Planned Parenthood discussing research conducted on aborted fetal tissue, videos that Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards called "heavily edited" and "fraudulent," a group of conservative Republicans pledged not to vote for any legislation that continued to allocate federal dollars to the reproductive healthcare organization. Despite Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, Congress avoided a government shutdown by passing legislation to keep the government funded until December 11, 2015, that included funding for Planned Parenthood.

See below what the 2016 presidential candidates and their respective party platforms said about the $500 million in annual federal funding that Planned Parenthood received while they were on the campaign trail.

Interested in reading more about the 2016 candidates' stances on issues related to Planned Parenthood funding? Ballotpedia also covered what the candidates said about abortion rights, healthcare, and budgets, plus in-depth coverage of the Republican effort to defund Planned Parenthood.

OVERVIEW OF CANDIDATE POSITIONS

Hillary Clinton supported continued federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Donald Trump pledged to defund Planned Parenthood.

Ballotpedia was unaware of any public statements made by Jill Stein on defunding Planned Parenthood.

Gary Johnson opposed cutting or eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood.

Democratic candidate

Hillary Clinton

• On September 18, 2015, Hillary Clinton sent the following tweet about protecting funding for Planned Parenthood:
  

  Hillary Clinton's tweet from September 18, 2015

• During a September 2015 interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Clinton declined to respond to Carly Fiorina's challenge to watch all of the footage released by the Center for Medical Progress about Planned Parenthood. Instead, Clinton focused on the Republican effort to defund Planned Parenthood and the possible government shutdown. She said, "I would hope that the Republicans — and particularly the Republicans in the House, led by Speaker (John) Boehner — would not put our country and our economy in peril pursuing some kind of emotionally, politically charged, partisan attack on Planned Parenthood to shut our government down. I think that would be a very, very unfortunate decision. ...If they want to shut down the legal provision of abortion services, then they've got a bigger problem, because obviously Planned Parenthood does not use federal dollars to do that."
• Read more of Hillary Clinton's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Democratic Party Platform on supporting Planned Parenthood

“ Ensure the Health and Safety of All Americans Democrats have been fighting to secure universal health care for the American people for generations, and we are proud to be the party that passed Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Being stronger together means finally achieving that goal. We are going to fight to make sure every American has access to quality, affordable health care. We will tackle the problems that remain in our health care system, including cracking down on runaway prescription drug prices and addressing mental health with the same seriousness that we treat physical health. We will fight Republican efforts to roll back the clock on women’s health and reproductive rights, and stand up for Planned Parenthood. And we will tackle the epidemics of substance abuse and gun violence, which each claim tens of thousands of lives every year. ... Securing Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Democrats are committed to protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice. We believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion—regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured. We believe that reproductive health is core to women’s, men’s, and young people’s health and wellbeing. We will continue to stand up to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood health centers, which provide critical health services to millions of people. We will continue to oppose—and seek to overturn—federal and state laws and policies that impede a woman’s access to abortion, including by repealing the Hyde Amendment. We condemn and will combat any acts of violence, harassment, and intimidation of reproductive health providers, patients, and staff. We will defend the ACA, which extends affordable preventive health care to women, including nocost contraception, and prohibits discrimination in health care based on gender. We will address the discrimination and barriers that inhibit meaningful access to reproductive health care services, including those based on gender, sexuality, race, income, disability, and other factors. We recognize that quality, affordable comprehensive health care, evidence-based sex education and a full range of family planning services help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions. And we strongly and unequivocally support a woman’s decision to have a child, including by ensuring a safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth, and by providing services during pregnancy and after the birth of a child, including adoption and social support services, as well as protections for women against pregnancy discrimination. We are committed to creating a society where children are safe and can thrive physically, emotionally, educationally, and spiritually. We recognize and support the importance of civil structures that are essential to creating this for every child. ”

Republican candidate

Donald Trump

• On December 1, 2015, Donald Trump said that as president he would defund Planned Parenthood and look at overturning Roe v. Wade. He said, “The other, you’re gonna need a lot of Supreme Court justices, but we’re gonna be looking at that very, very carefully, but you need a lot of Supreme Court judges. But defund yes, we’re going to be doing a lot of that.”

• During an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on November 29, 2015, Trump dismissed the idea that the current debate about Planned Parenthood’s fetal tissue practices caused a man to murder individuals at a Colorado Planned Parenthood, instead calling the tragedy the act of a mentally disturbed individual. He said, “I think it's terrible. I mean, terrible. It's more of the same. And I think it's a terrible thing. He's a maniac. I think he's a sick person. And I think he was probably a person ready to go. We don't even know the purpose. I mean, he hasn't come out, to the best of my knowledge, with a statement as to why it happened to be at that location. ...This was a man who they said prior to this was mentally disturbed. So, he's a mentally disturbed person. There's no question about that.”

• Trump also commented on edited, undercover videos released by the Center for Medical Progress that show individuals associated with Planned Parenthood discussing the procedures and sale of aborted fetal tissue. He said, “Well, I will tell you there is a tremendous group of people that think it's terrible, all of the videos that they've seen with some of these people from Planned Parenthood talking about it like you're selling parts to a car. I mean, there are a lot of people that are very unhappy about that. I see a lot of anxiety and I see a lot of dislike for Planned Parenthood. There's no question about that.”

• Read more of Donald Trump's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Republican Party Platform on opposing Planned Parenthood funding

“ The Fifth Amendment: Protecting Human Life The Constitution’s guarantee that no one can “be deprived of life, liberty or property” deliberately echoes the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “all” are “endowed by their Creator” with the inalienable right to life. Accordingly, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth. We oppose the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood, so long as they provide or refer for elective abortions or sell fetal body parts rather than provide healthcare. We urge all states and Congress to make it a crime to acquire, transfer, or sell fetal tissues from elective abortions for research, and we call on Congress to enact a ban on any sale of fetal body parts. In the meantime, we call on Congress to ban the practice of misleading women on so-called fetal harvesting consent forms, a fact revealed by a 2015 investigation. We will not fund or subsidize healthcare that includes abortion coverage. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. We oppose the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care or treatment, including food and water, from individuals with disabilities, newborns, the elderly, or the infirm, just as we oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide. We affirm our moral obligation to assist, rather than penalize, women who face an unplanned pregnancy. In order to encourage women who face an unplanned pregnancy to choose life, we support legislation that requires financial responsibility for the child be equally borne by both the mother and father upon conception until the child reaches adulthood. Failure to require a father to be equally responsible for a child places an inequitable burden on the mother, creating a financial and social hardship on both mother and child. We celebrate the millions of Americans who open their hearts, homes, and churches to mothers in need and women fleeing abuse. We thank and encourage providers of counseling, medical services, and adoption assistance for empowering women experiencing an unintended pregnancy to choose life. We support funding for ultrasounds and adoption assistance. We salute the many states that now protect women and girls through laws requiring informed consent, parental consent, waiting periods, and clinic regulation. We condemn the Supreme Court’s activist decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt striking down commonsense Texas laws providing for basic health and safety standards in abortion clinics. We applaud the U.S. House of Representatives for leading the effort to add enforcement to the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act by passing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which imposes appropriate civil and criminal penalties on healthcare providers who fail to provide treatment and care to an infant who survives an abortion, including early induction delivery whether the death of the infant is intended. We strongly oppose infanticide. Over a dozen states have passed Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Acts prohibiting abortion after twenty weeks, the point at which current medical research shows that unborn babies can feel excruciating pain during abortions, and we call on Congress to enact the federal version. Not only is it good legislation, but it enjoys the support of a majority of the American people. We support state and federal efforts against the cruelest forms of abortion, especially dismemberment abortion procedures, in which unborn babies are literally torn apart limb from limb. We call on Congress to ban sex-selection abortions and abortions based on disabilities — discrimination in its most lethal form. We oppose embryonic stem cell research. We oppose federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. We support adult stem cell research and urge the restoration of the national placental stem cell bank created by President George H.W. Bush but abolished by his Democrat successor, President Bill Clinton. We oppose federal funding for harvesting embryos and call for a ban on human cloning. The Democratic Party is extreme on abortion. Democrats’ almost limitless support for abortion, and their strident opposition to even the most basic restrictions on abortion, put them dramatically out of step with the American people. Because of their opposition to simple abortion clinic safety procedures, support for taxpayer-funded abortion, and rejection of pregnancy resource centers that provide abortion alternatives, the old Clinton mantra of “safe, legal, and rare” has been reduced to just “legal.” We are proud to be the party that protects human life and offers real solutions for women. ”

Green candidate

Jill Stein

• Ballotpedia is unaware of any public statements made by Jill Stein on defunding Planned Parenthood.
  
• Read more of Jill Stein's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Green Party Platform on reproductive rights

“ Reproductive Rights Women's rights must be protected and expanded to guarantee each woman's right as a full participant in society, free from sexual harassment, job discrimination or interference in the intensely personal choice about whether to have a child. Women's right to control their bodies is non-negotiable. It is essential that the option of a safe, legal abortion remains available. The "morning-after" pill must be affordable and easily accessible without a prescription, together with a government-sponsored public relations campaign to educate women about this form of contraception. Clinics must be accessible and must offer advice on contraception and the means for contraception; consultation about abortion and the performance of abortions, and; abortion regardless of age or marital status. We endorse women's right to use contraception and, when they choose, to have an abortion. This right cannot be limited to women's age or marital status. Contraception and abortion must be included in all health insurance policies in the U.S., and any state government must be able to legally offer these services free of charge to women at the poverty level. Public health agencies operating abroad should be allowed to offer family planning, contraception, and abortion in all countries that ask for those services. We oppose our government's habit of cutting family planning funds when those funds go to agencies in foreign countries that give out contraceptive devices, offer advice on abortion, and perform abortions. We encourage women and men to prevent unwanted pregnancies. It is the inalienable right and duty of every woman to learn about her body and to be aware of the phases of her menstrual cycle, and it is the duty for every man to be aware of the functions and health of his and his partner's bodies. This information is necessary for self-determination, to make informed decisions, and to prevent unintended consequences. Unplanned conception takes control away from individuals and makes them subject to external controls. The "morning-after" pill and option of a safe and legal abortion need to remain available. ” —2016 Green Party Platform

Libertarian candidate

Gary Johnson

• Responding to a question about the government having a role in protecting the right to choose during the June 22, 2016, CNN Libertarian Town Hall, Johnson said, "I think Republicans, really, they alienated a lot of people when they stopped—when they talk about de-funding Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood does a lot of good, and that starts with women's health."
• In an interview with Larry King on February 18, 2016, Johnson said, "Look, [Republicans] want to spend more money on military but they want to cut it from social programs, from health care. Look, it's got to be a balanced approach when it comes to government spending with regard to everything. Am I opposed, I'm opposed to cutting the funding, or eliminating funding, to Planned Parenthood. Look, but Planned Parenthood has to take cuts just along with everybody else or we're going to find ourselves in a really perilous situation."
• Read more of Gary Johnson's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Libertarian Party Platform on abortion
“ Abortion Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. ” —2016 Libertarian Party Platform

Withdrawn candidates

Democrats

• Martin O'Malley on defunding Planned Parenthood
• Bernie Sanders on defunding Planned Parenthood

Republicans

• Jeb Bush on defunding Planned Parenthood
• Ben Carson on defunding Planned Parenthood
• Chris Christie on defunding Planned Parenthood
• Ted Cruz on defunding Planned Parenthood
• Carly Fiorina on defunding Planned Parenthood
• Lindsey Graham on defunding Planned Parenthood
• Mike Huckabee on defunding Planned Parenthood
• Bobby Jindal on defunding Planned Parenthood
• John Kasich on defunding Planned Parenthood
• Rand Paul on defunding Planned Parenthood
• Marco Rubio on defunding Planned Parenthood
• Rick Santorum on defunding Planned Parenthood

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 2016 Presidential candidates on defunding Planned Parenthood. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

2016 presidential candidates on defunding Planned Parenthood - Google News

See also

• Republican effort to defund Planned Parenthood, 2015
• Presidential candidates, 2016