Fellow Conservative,

Good Saturday Morning!

Title X was established in 1970 to provide family planning services such as check-ups and contraceptives to low income families. Last year, Planned Parenthood received about $60 million from Title X and these taxpayer funds free up the organizations budget, allowing them to allocate more non-federal dollars to abortion programs.

In order to prevent US taxpayer dollars from being used to indirectly subsidize abortions, in May of 2018, the Trump administration announced that recipients of Title X funding would no longer be able to operate under the same roof as an abortion clinic or refer patients to abortion clinics.

And this week, in a very revealing announcement, Planned Parenthood said that they would no longer accept Title X money.

Heritage Action Vice President Jessica Anderson explained:

Planned Parenthood just chose abortion over health care yet again. Yesterday, they gave up millions of dollars of funding for health care for low-income women by refusing to separate their Title X family planning and preventive services from abortion activity. This decision, which comes on the heels of Dr. Leana Wen resigning as the group's president over their increasingly political focus on abortion, shows their true agenda of abortion advocacy above women's health.

For years, Planned Parenthood has claimed that abortions only account for only 3% of all procedures they perform (a number that’s long been debunked), but it’s telling that they would choose this supposed 3% of their business over the other 97%. The truth is, abortion has always been the backbone of Planned Parenthood’s business, and now it’s plain for all the world to see.

This is a major victory for life and for women’s health. Title X dollars will no longer subsidize Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry. These dollars are freed up, available to women’s health organizations and pregnancy clinics that help women in need without funneling them into the hands of the abortion industry.

August Recess Priorities: Born-Alive Act

There is major pro-life legislation sitting in Congress right now, but Nancy Pelosi refuses to allow a vote on it. Since February, Republicans in the House have been fighting for a vote on the floor for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would require medical practitioners to administer medical care to babies born alive during an abortion.

Liberal’s claim that this never happens, and that it’s a “bill in search of a problem.” But as Fox News reported this week, at least 40 babies were born alive during an abortion in just three states since 2016.

It’s important to point out that this was in just three states, and this number very likely underestimates the true scale of the problem. Most states do not have reporting requirements, and even in states that do, they are difficult to enforce.

> > > America is not divided on this issue. Heritage Action polling finds that 76% of all Americans support pro-life protections for babies born during an abortion.

Action Item: Every Republican in the House has signed the discharge petition to hold a vote for this bill. If your representative has not signed, call and ask them to.

(If you are unsure if your representative has signed, you can check here. If your member has signed, you can call and tell them “Thank you for signing.”)

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Universal Background Checks

Earlier this year, the House voted on a universal background check bill for firearms (H.R. 8). Heritage Action strongly opposed this bill and included it as a key vote on our scorecard.

Universal background checks have been shown to be largely ineffective, would infringe on a core constitutional right, and would inevitably make criminals out of ordinarily law-abiding citizens. This week, it was good to see President Trump walk back many of his recent comments in support of universal background checks.

It is important to remember constitutional principles during and after moments of crisis. The Bill of Rights exists to protect Americans from knee-jerk reactions and poorly considered policy.

Heritage Action in the News

Tim Chapman penned an op-ed in the Washington Examiner on the problem’s in America's higher education problem and how to fix them:

The American people understand the state of college today: it’s overpriced, overpoliticized, and overrated...the Higher Education and Reform Opportunity Act, introduced to Congress this week by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla...would empower states, such as Florida, to develop their own accreditation systems for colleges, courses, apprenticeship, and vocational training programs and curricula. It would also increase transparency in student outcomes, simplify federal student loan programs, and hold universities partially accountable for high student loan default rates.

And ICYMI, last week, Jessica Anderson was published in Fox News, discussing women voters and the policies driving their decision-making in 2020.

Have a great weekend and remain engaged these last two weeks of the August recess!

Tim, Jessica, and the Heritage Action team