Anti-Abortion Crusaders Call Change at Planned Parenthood "an Admission of Guilt"

Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards

There are nearly 700 Planned Parenthood clinics across the U.S.  Of those 700, only two--one in Washington state and one in California--make fetal tissue available to medical researchers.  And of those two, only one--the clinic in California--gets reimbursed for the cost of storing and shipping the tissue.

In a letter to the National Institutes of Health, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said PP has decided that it will no longer seek to recoup the cost of the fetal tissue program at that one clinic--which is reported as only one-tenth of one percent of the facility's annual budget--and will immediately stop accepting reimbursement. The family health organization sees their decision as important in making it possible for women who want to donate to continue to be able to do so without political controversy.

A Planned Parenthood patient, identified as "Kate" said donating tissue for research gave her "a little bit of closure to know I'm making a difference."

In her letter, Ms. Richards' explained, "Planned Parenthood policies on fetal tissue donation already exceed the legal requirements.  Now we're going even further in order to take away any basis for attacking Planned Parenthood to advance an anti-abortion political agenda."

"This is Planned Parenthood standing strong, saying that we are not going to be bullied...into walking away from important research and women's desire to donate," said Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood's executive vice president.

The Center for Medical Progress, the organization that released the highly edited videos this past Summer that started this whole witch-hunt called Ms. Richards' announcement "an admission of guilt." "If the money Planned Parenthood has been receiving for baby body parts were truly legitimate 'reimbursement,' why cancel it?"

what eye thynk:  If the Center for Medical Progress' purpose was to expose the "scandal" of money changing hands over the transference of fetal tissue to medical researchers, why are they upset over Ms. Laguens' announcement?  If they intend to continue the fight, it seems that is their own "admission of guilt" that money was never the point in the first place.

Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) who is heading the House committee investigating Planned Parenthood, said his committee has already reviewed 22,000 pages of documents and found no evidence of wrong-doing.  Six states that conducted their own investigations also came up empty-handed.  Despite these outcomes, Mr. Chaffetz has said his committee will continue the  witch hunt  investigation.

Representative Diane Black, (R-TN) who is one of the House members leading the defund Planned Parenthood campaign said, "If Planned Parenthood truly wanted to confront its growing scandal, it would stop aborting...innocent lives...and fully commit to true women's health care."

Ms. Black:  First, abortion is legal in this country, (check with the Supreme Court if you're confused about this), so there is no scandal, growing, fading, calcifying or otherwise.  You may not like it, but it's not your job--as an elected defender of the law--to stand in the way of thousands of women who make the difficult decision to end their pregnancy through a perfectly lawful medical procedure.

Second, Planned Parenthood is already "fully" committed to "true women's health care."  Of the thousands and thousands of women they help every year, only 3 percent of them visit a PP clinic seeking abortion services.  When an organization can prove statistically (you have scrutinized their reports carefully before mouthing off, right?) that 97 percent of their patient services are for reasons other than pregnancy termination, I'd say that's a pretty decent indicator that they do much, much more to protect the health of poor families than you care to give them credit for.  

So, please, do the rest of us a favor and stop trying to parse your anti-abortion campaign into a philanthropic, holy, save-a-life crusade.  You can't fight to close PP clinics, thus denying many poor women access to contraception, and then condemn those same women when they are forced into making the least palatable--and only--choice in family planning that you have left them.  

And you can't condemn a woman who chooses to freely donate fetal tissue for medical research--research that could quite possibly save one of those lives you say you're trying to protect.