GOP plans to defund Planned Parenthood along with Obamacare repeal

Congressional Republicans plan to defund Planned Parenthood, House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters Thursday, effectively stripping the women's health organization of federal funding.  

The defunding language would appear in the same budget reconciliation bill that Republicans will use to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

"Planned Parenthood legislation will be in our reconciliation bill," Ryan told reporters at a news conference Thursday, according to the Washington Post.

Democrats, for their part, have called out Republicans for attempting to repeal the ACA and defund Planned Parenthood in one fell swoop, saying the move would leave women with no options for affordable health care. (The Post has estimated that abortion comprises only 3% of the organization's work.)

But Republicans will only need a simple majority of the House and Senate for the legislation to pass — which could easily transpire given the GOP holds both chambers of Congress. 

And since President-elect Donald Trump supports both defunding Planned Parenthood and repealing the ACA, he's likely to sign the bill and officially strip the group of federal money.

It leaves Democrats with few options to fight what appears to be inevitable. 

About half of Planned Parenthood's funding — more than $500 million — comes from the federal government, according to NPR. 

In a statement, Planned Parenthood ripped into Republicans for seeking to defund their group, calling the defunding "unpopular" and "dangerous to people's health."

"Two and a half million women, men and young people come through our doors every year for lifesaving care like cancer screenings, birth control, and STI and STD tests, and they cannot afford to have basic reproductive health care attacked," Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards said in a statement. "Planned Parenthood has been here for 100 years and we're going to be here for 100 more. Women and men in this country won't let politicians like Paul Ryan and Mike Pence take us back decades."

Sept. 15, 2016, 2:34 p.m.: This story has been updated