DURING THE
GOP DEBATE ON CNN, CARLY FIORINA MADE SOME VERY STRONG
ALLEGATIONS AGAINST PLANNED PARENTHOOD.
SHE SAID THE
FOLLOWING, "FIORINA MEMORABLY DESCRIBED A VIDEO SHOWING A
FULLY FORMED FETUS ON THE TABLE, IT'S HEART BEATING, IT'S LEGS
KICKING, WHILE SOMEONE SAYS WE HAVE TO KEEP IT ALIVE TO HARVEST
ITS BRAIN."
IT SEEMS LIKE SHE WAS REFERRING TO A STING VIDEO
RELEASED BY THE CENTER FOR MEDICAL PROGRESS, AND
I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE STORY VERY CLOSELY SO I HAD
NO IDEA WHAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
I THOUGHT SHE WAS EITHER LYING
OR MISINFORMED.
TIME HAS DONE AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS,
AS WELL AS OTHER PUBLICATIONS, AND THEY HAVE FOUND THAT SHE WAS WRONG.
NOT ONLY BUT SHE WRONG, BUT THE VIDEO WAS EDITED TO MAKE IT
SEEM LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD WAS DOING SOMETHING WRONG WHEN
THEY WEREN'T ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING WRONG AT ALL.
THE VIDEO WAS RELEASED BY A MAN NAMED GREGG CUNNINGHAM, AND
HE WOULD NOT CONFIRM WHETHER OR NOT THE FOOTAGE SHOWN IN
THE VIDEO HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD.
HE WAS LIKE, I CAN NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY THAT
THIS TAKES PLACE IN A SPECIFIC CLINIC.
HE SAID I AM NEITHER CONFIRMING OR DENYING,
EVERYBODY KNOWS IT IS NOR.
I'VE GOT NEWS FOR YOU, YOU HAVE JUST SAID IT IS NOT A CLINIC.
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE FULL VIDEO FOUND SOME
PRETTY DAMNING THINGS.
"AFTER THE VIDEO DESCRIBED BY FIORINA WAS QUESTIONED,
HER SUPPORTERS SCRAMBLED TO CREATE THEIR OWN ABORTION VIDEO
USING HEAVILY EDITED FOOTAGE OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT CLIPS."
LIKE PEOPLE WERE NOT GOING TO KNOW.
HERE IS WHAT TIME FOUND.
"THE VIDEO WAS NOT TAKEN AT A PLANNED PARENTHOOD CLINIC.
THE FETUS SHOWS SOME REFLEXIVE MOVEMENT, BUT THAT'S ALL."
REFLEXIVE MOVEMENT HAPPENS AFTER SOMEONE HAS DIED AS WELL.
"NO ONE SAYS THE FETUS HAS TO BE KEPT ALIVE, NO ONE SAYS HARVEST THE BRAIN."
THEY HAVE BASICALLY DISCOVERED THAT THERE IS NO EVIDENCE
THAT THAT FOOTAGE HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD.
THERE IS NO SOUND ON IT, IT HAS NO SOUND.
SHE SAYS SHE HEARD STUFF, THERE IS NO SOUND.
SHE STRAIGHT UP LIED.
I AM GLAD THAT INVESTIGATIONS HAVE
BEEN DONE INTO THIS SITUATION, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS
INVESTIGATIONS INTO PLANNED PARENTHOOD AFTER THE STING
VIDEOS HAVE BEEN RELEASED.
THE LATEST STATEWIDE INVESTIGATION
HAPPENED IN MISSOURI, AND WHAT BASICALLY ENDED UP HAPPENING WAS
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, CHRIS KOSTER, LOOKED INTO PLANNED
PARENTHOOD IN ST.
LOUIS.
THEY ONLY HAVE ONE CLINIC IN THE
ENTIRE STATE, AND HERE'S WHAT HE ANNOUNCED.
"WE DISCOVERED NO
EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER TO SUGGEST THAT PLANNED PARENTHOODíS ST.
LOUIS FACILITY IS SELLING FETUS TISSUE."
DESPITE THAT, THERE
HAVE BEEN ACTIONS TAKEN AGAINST PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN OTHER
STATES.
"OFFICIALS IN ALABAMA, LOUISIANA, AND ARKANSAS HAVE
TARGETED MEDICAID FUNDING FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD, WHICH COVERS
NON-ABORTION RELATED PREVENTATIVE SERVICES, SUCH AS
BIRTH CONTROL, AND SCREENING FOR CANCER AND SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED
DISEASES."
FEDERAL MONEY DOES NOT GO TOWARD ABORTIONS.
THAT
IS BECAUSE THE HYDE AMENDMENT, WHICH WAS PASSED SHORTLY AFTER
ROE V WADE.
THE ONLY TIME FEDERAL MONEY GOES TOWARDS AN
ABORTION IS IF THE WOMAN'S LIFE IS IN DANGER, OR SHE IS A VICTIM
OF INCEST OR RAPE.
OTHER THAN THAT, YOUR TAX DOLLARS ARE NOT
GOING TOWARDS ANYBODY'S
ABORTION.
IT IS JUST NOT TRUE, STOP BEING MISINFORMED.
MISSOURI, WHICH IS A VERY BIG STATE, THERE ARE TWO HUGE
CITIES IN IT, SO IT IS NOT JUST THAT THAT CLINIC IN ST.
LOUIS IS THE ONLY PLANNED PARENTHOOD CLINIC IN
MISSOURI, THAT IS THE ONLY LICENSED SURGICAL ABORTION
FACILITY IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF MISSOURI.
THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT FOR ME, YOU ARE RIGHT.
THAT IS
THE ONLY PLACE THAT YOU CAN GET AN ABORTION IN MISSOURI, SO THAT
IS WHY THEY LAUNCHED THE INVESTIGATION.
AGAIN, THEY
FOUND NO WRONGDOING.
THANKFULLY, NATIONWIDE, POLLS
SHOW THAT MOST AMERICANS ARE NOT IN FAVOR OF DEFUNDING PLANNED
PARENTHOOD.
"TWO THIRDS OF THOSE SURVEYED, SIXTY-FIVE
PERCENT, SAY FUNDING SHOULD CONTINUE
FOR THE GROUP, WHICH PROVIDES CONTRACEPTION, CANCER SCREENING,
AND OTHER HEALTH SERVICES. 35 PERCENT SAY IT SHOULD BE CUT
OFF."
A HIGHER NUMBER OF REPUBLICANS THINK IT
SHOULD BE DEFUNDED, WHILE A HIGHER NUMBER OF DEMOCRATS
BELIEVE IT SHOULD NOT BE DEFUNDED.
"NINETY-ONE PERCENT
OF DEMOCRATS SUPPORT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD.
59 PERCENT OF REPUBLICANS SAY
THOSE FUNDS TO BE CUT OFF."
A POLL YESTERDAY FOUND THAT FIFTY-TWO PERCENT OPPOSED
CUTTING OFF FUNDING, AND FORTY-ONE PERCENT SUPPORTED IT.
IF YOU SAY FUNDING SHOULD CONTINUE, SIXTY-FIVE PERCENT SAY
YES.
PROBABLY THE ANSWER IS, IT IS SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN.
IT
DOES NOT SPEAK WELL OF US AS A COUNTRY THAT WE GIVE A THIRTEEN
POINT DIFFERENT ANSWER JUST
WHETHER YOU MAKE IT ñ WHETHER THE QUESTION IS SHOULD WE
CONTINUE FUNDING, OR SHOULD WE CUT OFF FUNDING.
THE QUESTION IS THE SAME, BUT THE ANSWERS ARE DIFFERENT.
SO WE ARE PROBABLY IN
THE UPPER 50íS OF PEOPLE WHO THINK WE SHOULD CONTINUE.
I WISH THE NUMBER WAS HIGHER, BUT I LIKE THE FACT
THAT MOST AMERICANS ARE IN FAVOR OF CONTINUING FUNDING.
I THINK THAT THOSE WHO ARE AGAINST IT ARE PROBABLY
MISINFORMED ABOUT WHAT PLANNED PARENTHOOD REALLY DOES.
LARGEST PROVIDER OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES IN AMERICA.