The scandal over three salacious videos purportedly showing Planned Parenthood officials bartering over tissue from aborted fetuses is about to get real on Capitol Hill. The Senate is scheduled to vote on a bill to strip the organization of its federal funding – PP gets roughly $500 million and 40 percent of its revenue from government dollars, according to its most recent annual report – before lawmakers bolt out of town for their long summer break. The fiscal punishment is the latest front in the so-called culture wars, and Republicans see it as a much-needed victory against abortion, especially given an embarrassing face-plant they had back in the winter. Yet terminated pregnancies, nationally, make up only about 3 percent of services offered by Planned Parenthood’s affiliated medical centers, according to the report; most of what they do is provide health screenings, tests for breast and cervical cancer, treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and contraception – a service which kind of helps prevent the need for abortions in the first place.
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