Democrats block vote on bill to deny federal funds to Planned Parenthood

Senate Democrats successfully blocked a Republican sponsored bill on 3 August that would have denied all federal funding of Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of family planning services in the United States. In a 53-46 largely party line vote, Republicans failed to reach the 60 votes needed to advance the bill to the Senate floor for debate.

In a speech before the vote the Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, said that if passed the bill would have limited women’s access to critical health services such as contraception, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and well woman visits. “This legislation is just another Republican attack on the healthcare …