Hillary Clinton called Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood an example of “big government” in the Democratic presidential debate Tuesday, in an effort to portray them as hypocritical.
“They don’t mind having big government to interfere with a woman’s right to choose and to try to take down Planned Parenthood,” Clinton said, when asked to defend the cost of her proposal for mandatory paid family leave. “They’re fine with big government when it comes to that. I’m sick of it.”
“We should not be paralyzed by the Republicans and their constant refrain, ‘big government this, big government that,’ except for what they want to impose on the American people,” she added. “I know we can afford it, because we’re going to make the wealthy pay for it.”
Congressional Republicans are working to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funds, after the Center for Medical Progress released a series of undercover videos exposing its dealings in fetal tissue. CMP alleges Planned Parenthood is illegally profiting from the exchange and illegally altering abortions for the sake of desirable tissue. (RELATED: 9 Key Points From First Nine Planned Parenthood Videos)
Senate Democrats have so far blocked efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, but the House is expected to try again using the budget tool of reconciliation, which allows some measures to pass with just a simple majority vote in the Senate.
The House oversight committee is investigating Planned Parenthood’s use of federal funds, and the House Judiciary committee is investigating its abortion procedures. The House voted last week to set up a special panel — similar to the committee on Benghazi — to deepen the probe into Planned Parenthood.
Clinton was the only candidate to mention abortion Planned Parenthood or abortion during the debate.
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