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Planned Parenthood Head Faces Off with Republicans in House Panel

HeadlineSep 30, 2015

Planned Parenthood’s president, Cecile Richards, faced off with Republican lawmakers before a House panel Tuesday amid renewed Republican attempts to defund the national health organization. During the hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Richards responded to Utah Congressmember Jason Chaffetz’s claims that Planned Parenthood misuses federal funding.

Cecile Richards: “There’s been a great deal of misinformation circulated about Planned Parenthood recently, and I want to be absolutely clear at the outset: The federal funding that Planned Parenthood receives allows our doctors and clinicians at our health centers to provide birth control, cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.”

Cecile Richards then went on to testify that Planned Parenthood does not sell fetal tissue to researchers and that the videos Republicans are using to make these claims are heavily edited and do not serve as evidence.

Cecile Richards: “The outrageous accusations leveled against Planned Parenthood, based on heavily doctored videos, are offensive and categorically untrue. I realize, though, that the facts have never gotten in the way of these campaigns to block women from healthcare they need and deserve.”

The hearings come after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell failed to secure enough votes to defund Planned Parenthood last month. A recent Reuters poll shows the majority of Americans support federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

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