Donald Trump may lead the Republican pack, even among evangelical voters, but one group is stepping up pressure to make the formerly pro-abortion tycoon commit to defunding Planned Parenthood.
ForAmerica, a grassroots non-profit that has become one of the most powerful advocacy groups on Facebook, says that Trump, as well as pediatric brain surgeon Ben Carson, refused to say whether they would investigate the nation’s top abortionist for its organ harvesting operations. The candidates also failed to commit to vetoing legislation that would allow Planned Parenthood to continue receiving $500 million from taxpayers each year.
"Mr. Trump has wavered on the issue in recent weeks and Dr. Carson claims to be making a strong push for conservative support, but their refusal is disappointing and quite revealing," ForAmerica chairman Brent Bozell said in a release. "These were two simple, basic questions. If you can’t commit to this, you’re simply not serious about stopping the horrors at Planned Parenthood."
The Carson campaign said that the groundbreaking doctor simply missed the questionnaire. Carson, who sits at second place in the polls ahead of Wednesday’s CNN debate, would veto any legislation that steers taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood’s billion-dollar enterprise, according to a spokesman.
"There are literally hundreds of [questionnaires] flying around," Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett said in an email. "He strongly supports defunding Planned Parenthood and a 20 week ban."
Trump, who has vacillated between funding and defunding Planned Parenthood in recent weeks, did not respond to request for comment.
ForAmerica, which has an "online army of over 7.7 million people," submitted the questionnaire to every presidential hopeful, Democrat and Republican, asking two questions:
1) Will you pledge to veto any spending bill that contains funding of Planned Parenthood in your first week of office?
2) Will you instruct the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a criminal investigation of Planned Parenthood within your first week of office?
None of the Democrats responded to the email.
Bozell said pro-life politicians should be going on offense in the wake of undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s organ harvesting practices. Even Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton called the imagery "disturbing" when the Center for Medical Progress began releasing the footage. She has since become a fierce defender of Planned Parenthood, whose employees have contributed about $10,000 to her campaign, the most of any candidate.
Bozell praised Jindal, Cruz, Fiorina, and Santorum for having "the courage of their convictions" by demonstrating that they "are willing to commit to disconnecting hard-working taxpayers from funding this barbaric organization." He wants to see the entire field, Trump included, get on board.
"Pro-lifers have reason to be concerned, most especially with the front-runners who are delivering lots of rhetoric, but are apparently unwilling to commit to any serious action. It smells like business as usual," Bozell said.
Several congressional committees and a number of states are now investigating Planned Parenthood. Senate Democrats blocked a bill that would have steered taxpayer dollars away from the abortionist and to local women’s health clinics.