Planned Parenthood May Have Played Supporting Part in Primary Races that End in Defeat for House GOP
The following is a digest from an article found at Capitol Inside by Mike Hailey. This digest is provided for the benefit of Texas Republicans, Texas Republican Lobbyists, and other politically interested parties.
First time House Representative Jim Landtroop stated during his 2012 re-election campaign that he would be unwilling to compromise when it comes to anti-abortion. Landtroop passed a bill that put over a dozen Planned Parenthood facilities out of business. This was Landtroop’s first and possibly last major measure to be proposed and passed. It appears that Jim Landtroop just lost to Republican rival Ken King, with it looking as though his position on Planned Parenthood perhaps had some influence on this outcome. The Republican Party in Texas often finds difficulty in navigating the waters with women conservatives and health issues.
Planned Parenthood rallied and networked a variety of resources and voters to knock out their three greatest threats in office, Landtroop being one of them. Planned Parenthood has been cited as saying that they believe these House members are all out of touch with Republican women’s issues and necessities. It’s difficult to measure how much of an effect Planned Parenthood’s efforts have made, but as a large organization they have demonstrated some definite influence over voters and to a certain extent, House seats.
“In the eyes of Planned Parenthood, the incumbent House trio in question had been at the forefront of a war that the Republican supermajority in the lower chamber declared on the group under the banner of the pro-life crusade. With more Republicans than ever on both sides of the rotunda, the House took the lead last year on legislation that had the effect of excluding Planned Parenthood from the Women’s Health Program, which provides health care services to low-income women.”
The fight between members of the Republican party and Planned Parenthood has escalated, and Planned Parenthood has actually taken the State to court over it. In the State’s defense of laws that eliminate clinics that allow for abortion, Planned Parenthood claims that women’s lives and health are being jeopardized. Cuts in funding for women’s health clinics also prose possible problems in this ongoing battle. It in unknown as of now the exact stance of the GOP members replacing the three initial House seats in regards to Planned Parenthood, but it is certainly a matter of great interest and controversy.