US Congress rolls back family planning funding protections
US Republican lawmakers on Thursday successfully rolled back Obama-era rules protecting funding to clinics that offer abortion services, as Vice President Mike Pence broke a Senate tie on the contentious measure. The rules had prevented states from withholding certain federal money -- distributed under a "Title X" program that funds family planning clinics used in large measure by low-income Americans -- to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, for years have sought to defund Planned Parenthood and other clinics that provide abortion.