Anti-abortion extremists failed to sway the Republican-controlled Senate on Monday, which voted not to defund the nonprofit organization that provides reproductive and preventive health care services to almost 3 million women, men, and nonbinary individuals annually.
Why? Because facts.
Let’s recap what occurred throughout this ideological attack on Planned Parenthood:
Mother Jones on X (formerly Twitter): “Planned Parenthood survives congressional assault-for now http://t.co/6QlhXTG7na pic.twitter.com/Fi7MB7N51D / X”
Planned Parenthood survives congressional assault-for now http://t.co/6QlhXTG7na pic.twitter.com/Fi7MB7N51D
Anti-abortion activist David Daleiden’s Center for Medical Progress, which The New York Times reports has faced allegations of deceptive practices, created a fake company to secretly record Planned Parenthood staff without the organization’s consent. You can hear more about their alleged shady dealings in this New York Times editorial.
Daleiden claims that Planned Parenthood is selling aborted fetal tissue for profit and that his video is uncovering a major scandal.
But FACTS:
Planned Parenthood is permitted to donate fetal tissue in accordance with federal law and the pregnant woman’s consent. This service is only offered at some Planned Parenthood locations.
Planned Parenthood states it does not profit from the process; investigations have found no evidence to the contrary. The organization is only reimbursed for costs associated with donating, and the tissues are used in biomedical research to improve understanding of a variety of conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome. According to U.S. News & World Report, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spent $76 million on human fetal tissue research last year.
So, everything they were doing was legal.
However, Planned Parenthood’s website was hacked shortly after by what the organization refers to as extremists who presented a new low for anti-abortion extremists, CNN.com reports. Despite all these facts, dozens of conservative political figures began to call for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. The House passed defunding provisions in certain bills, but the measure did not become law.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand came to Planned Parenthood’s defense with… FACTS! Here she is slaying a Senate session all over the place with lots of facts:
Her speech is TRULY moving, and we currently have a Senator-lady crush on her because of it.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the facts some conservatives and anti-abortionists were ultimately unable to ignore:
- Abortions are federally funded only in narrowly defined circumstances, such as rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk … BOOM fact
- According to Planned Parenthood, only 3 percent of their work is related to abortion; 97 percent of their work goes toward preventative health measures, like contraceptives, STD tests, breast exams, cancer screenings, sex education, as well as adoption referrals and immunizations … more facts
- Abortion rates are at their lowest in 40 years, and this is attributed to access to contraceptives… and faaaaaaacccctttt
- Planned Parenthood receives $500 million in federal funding, which accounts for 41 percent of its revenue… and finally, FACT
Need more facts? Check out this article by CNN.
Westchester Woman is thankful that our Senators are influenced by facts and grateful for those working to make them known.