The Republican-dominated US House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday defunding Planned Parenthood and repealing a provision in the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
The bill repealed Obamacare's individual health insurance mandate and the employer health insurance mandate. Democratic pro-lifers opposed the bill.
The House received commendation from pro-life groups for its action.
"Women have the most to gain from congressional action to reroute these tax dollars to community and rural health centres, which provide comprehensive health care services to women, but do not abort the lives of unborn children and harvest their body parts," said the pro-life political action committee the Susan B. Anthony List, according to the Catholic News Agency.
"We fully support reallocating Planned Parenthood's Title X funding to the 13,000 community health centres and rural health care clinics," said Kristen Day, president of Democrats for Life of America.
However, she objected linking the bill to gutting Obamacare as it "will cost votes and defeat the bipartisan effort to prevent federal funds from going to the largest abortion provider in the nation."
The Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 passed the House on a party line vote, 240-189. Only one Democrat, Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, voted for it.
The act is a budget reconciliation bill that temporarily blocks any funding to Planned Parenthood while the House investigates Planned Parenthood and also blocks Medicaid funds to the abortion provider.
Planned Parenthood gets more than $500 million in public funds per year, most of it coming from Medicaid payments and funds from Title X.
The act will invest $235 million into community health centres that do not perform abortions.
Planned Parenthood has been at the centre of controversy following the release of sting videos showing the group's involvement in the sale of foetal body parts to medical researchers.
On Friday, House Speaker John Boehner announced the members of a special panel to investigate Planned Parenthood.
Ohio moves to defund Planned Parenthood
Meanwhile, the Ohio Senate has also voted to defund Planned Parenthood.
"We are moving that money to organisations that are life-affirming organisations," said Sen. Bill Coley, R-West Chester Township, according to Christian News Network.
Senate Bill 214 was approved 23-10 and will be sent to the state House. It reallocates $1.3 million funding to health centres that do not perform abortions.
"The Department of Health shall ensure that all funds it receives through the Violence Against Women Act to distribute as grants for the purpose of education and prevention of violence against women are not used to do any of the following: (1) Perform non-therapeutic abortions; (2) Promote non-therapeutic abortions; (3) Contract with any entity that performs or promotes non-therapeutic abortions; (4) Become or continue to be an affiliate of any entity that performs or promotes non-therapeutic abortions," it reads in part.
"Whether you call yourself pro-life or pro-choice, I think most people have an issue with taxpayer dollars going to an organisation that seeks to profit off of the harvest of body parts from the unborn," said Senate President Keith Faber.
Planned Parenthood defenders said the group provides other services.
"More than 80,000 Ohioans are served by Planned Parenthood clinics each year," said Cheri Holderidge, the leader of Village Church in Toledo and member of the Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
"The last time I checked, regardless of how we feel about it, Roe v. Wade has made abortion legal in the US and is the law of the land," argued Sen. Capri Cafaro, D-Hubbard. "This debate shouldn't be about abortion anyway, it's about access to health care."
