EXCLUSIVE: Ernst Introduces Legislation To Defund Planned Parenthood

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa introduced legislation in the Senate Wednesday to prohibit federal funding for Planned Parenthood after the organization received COVID relief funds.

At least $120 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans were provided to affiliates of Planned Parenthood in 2020 and 2021 contrary to “applicable affiliation rules and size standards” during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Dec. 17 letter that Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky sent to then-Small Business Administration Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman. Ernst told the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation that her legislation would ensure that the non-profit organization, known for promoting abortion, would not receive taxpayer funds.

“The nation’s largest abortion provider should not be receiving a dime in federal funding,” Ernst told the DCNF. “Planned Parenthood already got caught with their hand in the cookie jar siphoning off millions in COVID aid designated for mom-and-pop shops. I am standing up for the most vulnerable among us, the unborn, and ensuring that women and babies are supported instead of abortion.”

The Susan B. Anthony List gave Ernst an A+ grade on its scorecard for the term that started on Jan. 3, 2021. She received the same grade for her first term, which started in 2015.

Ernst’s legislation says that “no Federal funds may be made available to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, or to any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, or clinics.”