GOP gives up trying to defund Planned Parenthood in lame-duck session

December 4, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – With only four weeks left until Democrats assume control of the House of Representatives, pro-lifers had hoped for congressional Republicans to make one final push to defund Planned Parenthood before losing their majority. But GOP leaders have already thrown cold water on those hopes.
Last week, leaders and representatives of Live Action, Students for Life of America, the March for Life, and the Susan B. Anthony List met with administration officials at the White House to urge President Donald Trump to veto the upcoming budget agreement if it continues to finance the abortion giant...
...Trump has once again floated threats to veto a budget that doesn’t reflect his priorities, but most Republicans are unwilling to draw a line in the sand on Planned Parenthood, Politico reports. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, attempted to rally support for another defunding effort, but his colleagues rejected it over fears of a potential government shutdown. A Cruz spokesperson says the senator will continue fighting to defund Planned Parenthood in the next session...
...Politico quotes unnamed pro-lifers as being unwilling to force a budget confrontation, and instead favor a “longer term vision for incremental progress” that includes state laws, executive actions, and continuing to transform the judiciary. Judicial nominees only require approval from the Senate, whose pro-life majority is expanding next year.
President Trump is expected to continue advancing the pro-life cause through regulations, and enacting standalone pro-life legislation will be all-but impossible in the next two years. But other pro-life leaders expressed disgust with GOP leaders’ failure to do more in Trump’s first two years.
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