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WASHINGTON, D.C., January 7, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) — Last night's vote to send a Planned Parenthood defunding measure to President Obama's desk was hailed as a victory by pro-life leaders inside and outside of Congress.

The bill's passage “established an important precedent for the next administration,” said SBA president Marjorie Dannenfelser. “If Americans elect a pro-life president this year, and safeguard our pro-life majorities in Congress, this bill – and many others – could be law by 2017.”

Dannenfelser and others called for Obama to sign the legislation, even though he has already declared his intention to use his veto pen. Center for Medical Progress president David Daleiden, whose videos last summer were responsible for a renewed push to defund America's largest abortion company, said in a statement that “Congress is listening to the will of the American people to hold Planned Parenthood accountable under the law for their barbaric abortion and baby parts business.”

“[On Tuesday], President Obama wiped tears from his eyes saying: 'Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad.' Mr. President, show the same outrage and compassion for the kids who are killed and harvested for body parts at Planned Parenthood, and parted out and sold across the country like used cars,” urged Daleiden. “The hypocrisy and callousness of this out-of-touch administration will be on full display if after today, President Obama refuses to listen to the will of the American people and reassign taxpayer money from Planned Parenthood’s barbaric abortion and baby parts business to mainstream, full-spectrum health care providers.”

Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins was likewise praised Congress for its passage of the bill, saying that “While Planned Parenthood deserves to be permanently defunded following revelations that they likely made a profit off of selling the body parts of aborted babies, any bill that halts a significant portion of their funding should be commended.”

“It is unconscionable that government funds continue to flood an organization like Planned Parenthood when there are thousands of other women’s health organizations that do not commit abortions,” continued Hawkins. “Planned Parenthood should be forced to raise their funds entirely through private donations like any other non-profit and not rely on taxpayers for the majority of their revenue – President Obama’s schedule will be free soon enough to help his favorite organization raise money privately. By then, hopefully Americans will have voted in a pro-life president who will immediately defund Planned Parenthood.”

“With this vote, we are keeping a promise and putting a bill that repeals Obamacare and defunds Planned Parenthood on the president’s desk,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-WI. “This budget reconciliation bill, which would reduce the federal deficit by a half trillion dollars, forces the president to confront the failures of Obamacare head on. But most importantly, it clears the path to repealing this law with a Republican president in 2017 and replacing it with a truly patient-centered health care system. We will not back down from this fight to defend the sanctity of life and make quality health care coverage achievable for all Americans.”

Grazie Pozo Christie, M.D., of The Catholic Association, said that “It is encouraging that the US House of Representatives has begun the year by passing a bill that prioritizes the well being of the most vulnerable.”

“If [President] Obama cares about women and children, [he] should sign this bill that reallocates public funds instead to facilities providing authentic healthcare for women,” said Christie.

Leading pro-life Representative Tim Huelskamp of Kansas said that “It is time to hold this President responsible not only for his failed, unpopular D.C. takeover of Americans’ health care system, but also gruesome Planned Parenthood. An organization that is plagued with scandal and profits from the barbaric harvesting and sale of baby body parts should not receive a dime in federal funding.”

“For the first time since America’s largest abortion business began receiving public funding – nearly five decades ago – the president will have to decide up or down on legislation to defund Planned Parenthood. It is the first bill ever to get to the president’s desk that would achieve this longtime pro-life goal, and reallocate taxpayer funding to comprehensive health care centers,” said Dannenfelser.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said that “Congress sent a clear message today to the President on behalf of unborn children, their mothers, and for taxpayers. Never before has Congress been able to send a bill to President Obama's desk ending the forced partnership between taxpayers and Planned Parenthood.”

Republican Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, a top pro-life leader in Congress' upper chamber, said in response to the vote that “I realize that our nation remains divided on the issue of abortion, but surely we are not divided on the procurement and sale of human organs. Planned Parenthood’s harvesting operation is a callous disregard for human dignity, and we should stop providing taxpayer support for them. Funding for organizations that abort children or engage in the harvesting of body parts should be redirected to women’s health at community health centers.”