Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina blasted Planned Parenthood for the videos showing officials discussing fetal organ harvesting, saying that the party should force President Obama to veto a bill that continued to fund the organization.
An emotional Fiorina said the debate was about the "character of our nation."
"As regards Planned Parenthood, anyone who has watched this videotape, I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama to watch these tapes," Fiorina said, her voice shaking. "Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says, 'We have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.' This is about the character of our nation, and if we will not stand up and force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on us."
The strongly pro-life candidate has already vowed to defund Planned Parenthood, the nation's leading provider of abortions, if she became president, The Hill reports:
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Carly Fiorina have both pledged to veto any spending bill that contains funding for Planned Parenthood if they become president, according to a survey of the candidates released by the conservative group ForAmerica.
The two-question survey also asked if, as president, the candidates would instruct the Department of Justice to launch a criminal investigation of Planned Parenthood.
Cruz and Fiorina, along with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) all answered "yes" to both questions, the group said.
However, the group says none of the other presidential candidates responded to the survey, which it says was circulated a week ago.
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Cruz, Fiorina, Jindal and Santorum are making a pledge along the same lines as the vow from 31 House conservatives not to vote for any bill funding the government beyond Sept. 30 that includes Planned Parenthood money.
That pledge has posed a problem for Republican congressional leaders looking to avoid a government shutdown.