If the Republicans bent on defunding Planned Parenthood force the second government shutdown of the Obama era next week the tens of millions of vulnerable Americans would lose their food stamps benefits, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) warned on Tuesday.

In reply to the news that a shutdown would discontinue food stamps to as many as 45 million people, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) issued a statement saying the way to avoid a shutdown is for Democrats to get committed with cutting off federal funding for women's healthcare. "The best way to ensure SNAP recipients receive needed support is to vote for the [continuing resolution]," Roberts said. "I'm prepared to do so, and if members are worried about SNAP funding, they should too."

The funding evaluate Roberts referenced would zero out federal funds to Planned Parenthood, the national women's health organization that's been smeared by pro-life activists as rudely profiting off the sale of aborted fetal tissue. Many of Roberts' House colleagues have pledged to shut down the government if the group doesn't have its funding cut off. State lawmakers in some parts of the country have already moved to restrict the group's ability to provide a wide range of health services to low-income women who depend on Planned Parenthood clinics. In a quarter of all the counties where the group has a presence, the clinics are the only source of affordable contraceptive services for women of little means.

Different from the 2013 shutdown when cash reserves allowed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to be disbursed as normal, "USDA will not have the funding needed for SNAP benefits in October and will be forced to discontinue providing benefits within the first several days of October," a spokeswoman said. The agency notified state SNAP administrators on Friday that they should not begin the process of sharing out October's food stamps dollars this week as they usually would.