Alabama lawmakers on the debate to defund Planned Parenthood

In Washington, House Republicans are working to defund Planned Parenthood. The house passed a bill this-morning that freezes funding to Planned Parenthood for one year.

If it clears the senate, the White House already said the president would veto it.

"It is really about subsidizing the killing and mutilation of babies with taxpayers' money," said Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL).

Each of Alabama's six republican members in the U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday morning on a one year freeze to Planned Parenthood funding, while Congress investigates the organization.

"No taxpayer should be forced to fund an organization that aborts more than 350,000 unborn babies every year," said Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL).

With the new fiscal year weeks away, some congressional republicans are threatening to shut down the government unless a spending bill passes that includes defunding the group.

Others are seeking alternatives.

The bill passed Friday morning from Tennessee Congresswoman Diane Black is a standalone bill that would end Planned Parenthood funding for one year.

"Look we're not talking about whether it's legal to have an abortion. We're talking about whether they've broken laws in the way in which they're doing these abortions," said Black.

Democrats say the bill makes it harder for women to have access to healthcare.

Planned Parenthood gets around $450 million from the federal government, almost none can be used for abortions.

"They pretended abortion doesn't exist and Planned Parenthood is the only place where low income women can get healthcare," said Roby.

Roby tweeted a graphic showing there 234 health care providers in Alabama as an alternative to the two Planned Parenthood locations.

Planned Parenthood has facilities in Birmingham and Mobile.

"Community health centers don't perform abortions," said Roby. "Planned Parenthood does. That's what this is about. It's about preserving a pipeline of funding to the nation's largest abortion provider."

Democrat Congresswoman Terri Sewell from Birmingham voted against the bill. Sewell says, "Partisanship aside, Planned Parenthood has provided access to critical healthcare services to women across this country for nearly 100 years. We must protect these services for the thousands of low income women who depend on planned parenthood for mammograms and other important health screenings that can potentially save lives. Providing access to healthcare must remain a top priority."

We also reached out to Planned Parenthood Southeast and are still waiting to hear back.