Planned Parenthood is America’s largest abortion chain, performing over three hundred thousand every year. But given some recent comments, you might think they’re running an MMA promotion instead.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders gave that impression, anyway. He highlighted Planned Parenthood’s martial prowess last month, saying, “They’re standing up and fighting the important fights that have to be fought.”
Earlier, Sanders had said Planned Parenthood represents “the political establishment,” something the folks there weren’t too pleased with. In response, they tweeted about their willingness to throw down for “women’s health.”
Now, I wouldn’t accuse Planned Parenthood of lying (ok, I would), but we aren’t getting all the facts here. Because while it’s true that Planned Parenthood is more than willing to “fight like hell,” protecting women isn’t their goal.
In 2009, staff at the Women’s Medical Society abortion facility proved they just weren’t competent to administer medication. How did they prove that? Simple: they killed a woman.
Bhutanese refugee Karnamaya Mongar got a lethal dose of Demerol when she visited them in Philadelphia. The facility’s owner, Kermit Gosnell, was sent to prison for her death as well as for the murder of several newborns.
In addition to employing unqualified staff, Gosnell ran a squalid facility where human remains were often left to rot. And because of the hands-off approach that the state of Pennsylvania took with abortion centers, that wasn’t hard to get away with. According to the subsequent grand jury report, even nail salons were subject to more oversight.
Neighboring Maryland didn’t pay much attention either, or at least not until abortionist Steven C. Brigham inflicted serious injuries on a patient in 2010. Authorities discovered that Dr. Brigham lacked a medical license and had begun storing fetuses in a freezer.
Brigham and Gosnell aren’t the only ones with a history of operating this way; legal abortion mills have existed for decades, and those in the abortion industry know the risks they pose. Last year, the Center for Medical Progress released undercover footage of StemExpress CEO Cate Dyer speaking candidly about them:
StemExpress acquires human body parts from abortion facilities and supplies them to researchers. According to Dyer, the condition of those facilities isn’t always up to par:
SE: We’ll do testing on our side, so we’ll be able to see, you know. And sometimes we’ll find that it can be clinic-specific. I’ve seen really rampant, rampant problems with bacteria in certain clinics. [laughter] Some where you’re kind of in question of should they really, you know, [laughing]
Buyer: Right.
SE: I’ve seen staph come out of clinics.
Buyer: Wow.
SE: So, I mean, I’ve seen all sorts of things come out of clinics, so.
Pro-lifers have responded with common sense safety measures, like surprise clinic inspections. Despite claiming to fight for “women’s health,” Planned Parenthood isn’t on board. Why would Planned Parenthood want to protect substandard abortion centers? Probably because they own some of them.
Jayne Mitchell-Werbrich and Joyce Vasikonis are two nurses who worked at Planned Parenthood of Delaware. At a 2013 state legislative hearing, they compared their job environment to a “meat market,” testifying that women were exposed to bloody tables and unsterilized instruments. Former clinic director Melody Meanor testified that staff mishandled drugs, failed to update records, and didn’t inform patients of positive STD tests. Abortions were performed by Dr. Timothy F. Liveright, a physician who’s been the subject of multiple complaints.
And this isn’t the only way that Planned Parenthood is unconcerned for women’s safety. The group has a long history of helping sex offenders to stay out of jail and keep harming their victims. Further, Planned Parenthood will even make sure that girls aren’t born at all.
In some parts of the world, baby girls are routinely aborted. Planned Parenthood is ready to do that in America, too. In 2012, staff at their Margaret Sanger clinic in New York City were willing to assist a woman who said she would abort if she was carrying a girl. Meanwhile, when Arizona made performing sex- and race-selective abortions a felony in 2011, Planned Parenthood condemned the move.
So what does Planned Parenthood fight for? Well, money’s sort of a big deal to them. Every year, Planned Parenthood receives more than a half billion dollars in taxpayer funding. Granted, they do have some major expenses; the group’s president, Cecile Richards, makes almost six hundred thousand dollars annually.
If you’re not happy about that, tell Congress you want those funds redirected to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) instead. In 2014, FQHCs performed over five hundred thousand mammograms. Planned Parenthood? Zero. As an added bonus, FQHCs don’t enable abuse or offer to abort baby girls.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Planned Parenthood is going to start fighting for women any time soon. The good news? Pro-lifers aren’t going to stop.
