On Thursday Republican lawmakers reversed Obama’s ban on states withholding funds from Planned Parenthood

(VERO BEACH, FLA) On Thursday congress reversed a ban stopping states from withholding tax payer funds from Planned Parenthood over its usage for abortion clinics.

Bill sponsor Representative Diane Black (R-TN) argued on the House floor that state lawmakers — not the federal government — should have the final say over how taxpayer funds for medical care are distributed in their local communities.

“We are simply voting today to affirm the right of states to fund the healthcare providers that best suit their needs, without fear of reprisal from their own federal government,” Black said before the House vote. “As a state legislator, I worked within my authority to make sure that Tennessee honored the will of our pro-life populace and steered our state’s share of Title X dollars away from health care providers that perform abortion.”

Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards decried the resolution, saying in statement following the vote:

“Extremists in Congress are trying to make it easier for state politicians to take away people’s health care. This is wrong, and it’s not what the American people want. When Congress goes home next week, they can count on hearing from people at their offices, the corner store, and every town hall.”

Pro-Life groups responded in jubilance to the legislative shift.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, called the rule a “parting gift to the abortion industry” and praised Congress for the swift reversal.

“At every turn, then-President Obama thwarted efforts by state and local authorities—who were acting on the will of the people—to prioritize taxpayer funding away from Big Abortion,” Dannenfelser said in a statement. “Obama’s legacy of forcing Americans to finance the abortion industry is being steadily dismantled by our new pro-life President and the pro-life Congress. We look forward to swift passage of this resolution in the Senate so that it can receive President Trump’s signature.”

The bill passed the House 230-188 with Democrats almost ubiquitously voting against it. The bill now must pass the Senate and be signed by President Trump to go into effect.

Washington Free Beacon copy, TRUNEWS analysis