�鶹Ů��

Jeb Bush on Tuesday called for expanded health care for female veterans, but took fire from Hillary Clinton for going after Planned Parenthood when he said the organization is "not actually doing women's health issues." (Killough, 8/25)

Jeb Bush, who cut off state funding for Planned Parenthood as Florida governor, is a part of a chorus of Republicans calling for the federal government to pull funding for the group. He doubled down on his attack of Planned Parenthood during a recent town hall event, and his comments went viral on social media almost immediately. How accurate is his description of “women’s health issues” offered by Planned Parenthood and supported through federal funds? (Lee, 8/26)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), told pastors Tuesday that he would do his best to make sure the government could not be funded if that funding included any taxpayer support for Planned Parenthood -- but that any attempt to blame him for a government shutdown that could result would be "nonsense." (Zezima, 8/25)

The Wisconsin governor last week outlined his plan for health care reform. It was no surprise that he endorsed the concept of a Medicaid block grant, which would give states a capped amount of money and more flexibility in how they spend it. But his proposal was one of the most detailed to be released by a candidate for office, and it added a twist: He would actually turn Medicaid into three different funding streams for three different populations. One would be a block grant for states to cover children, their parents, and other adults—the part of Medicaid that looks the most like regular health insurance. Another would be a separate block grant to cover long-term care for poor seniors and disabled people. The third stream would be open-ended grants to cover acute-care events for the disabled and elderly. (Scott, 8/26)

The legal skirmish, and others like it nationwide, reveal a quiet evolution in the nation’s abortion battle. Increasingly, abortion opponents are pursuing personal and medical information on women undergoing abortions and the doctors who perform them. They often file complaints with authorities based on what they learn. Abortion opponents insist their tactics are generally not aimed at identifying women who have abortions, but are meant to uncover incidents involving patients who may have been harmed by poor care or underage girls who may have been sexually abused. (Ornstein, 8/25)

David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress, wanted to ensure the sting videos accusing the women’s health organization of illegally profiting from the sale of fetal tissue had staying power beyond the “contemporary 24-hour news cycle.” The eight tapes already made public have galvanized the anti-abortion movement and put federal and state funding for Planned Parenthood on the chopping block. Probes of the group are underway in Congress and several states. And conservatives on the Hill are threatening to shut down the federal government if their demand for cuts are ignored. (Pradhan, 8/26)

The latest video from the Center for Medical Progress’s undercover operation features the CEO of a company that used to work with Planned Parenthood clinics as she discusses the procurement of fetal liver tissue. The video, released Tuesday morning, is likely to factor into Republican efforts to end Planned Parenthood’s funding and investigate the women’s health organization, StemExpress and other companies. It shows StemExpress CEO Cate Dyer saying that fetal liver tissue is “such an area of demand for us” and referring to “intact cases,” a term CMP argues refers to an aborted fetus. (Pradhan, 8/25)