By Brenda Flanagan
Correspondent
“It is actually shocking that we, as a House of Representatives, have gotten to this point,” said Congressman Frank Pallone.
Pallone stood with Planned Parenthood supporters in Perth Amboy and explained how the House GOP now wants to establish a new select subcommittee for the sole purpose of investigating the embattled health care provider.
“Obviously the goal of the Republicans in the House is to completely shut down Planned Parenthood,” he said.
The bruising, partisan politics around Planned Parenthood only gained intensity after “gotcha videos” shot by pro-life advocates focused on the group’s practice of providing fetal tissue from abortions for medical research. Planned Parenthood insists it doesn’t profit, but its staff, in heavily-edited segments, can appear glaringly insensitive at best when discussing compensation.
The tapes ignited a Republican firestorm of condemnation, including presidential primary candidate Carly Fiorina’s now-infamous mis-characterization of one clip.
“Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says, ‘We have to keep it alive to harvest its brain!’” Fiorina said.
The most recent Republican push to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding failed. For its part, the organization didn’t retrench or reorganize, and critics charge its finances remain frustratingly opaque. Instead, Planned Parenthood circled the wagons, and its president vigorously defended the group in congressional hearings last week.
“The outrageous accusations leveled against Planned Parenthood based on heavily doctored videos are offensive and categorically untrue. I realize the facts have never gotten in the way of these campaigns to block women from healthcare they need and deserve,” said Cecile Richards.
In New Jersey, Planned Parenthood serves more than 100,000 residents a year via 26 health centers around the state, nine in medically underserved areas. They do PAP smears, test for HIV and offer affordable birth control options.
“I contacted Planned Parenthood for basically to seek birth control, and to seek different methods of birth control, basically to learn more about how to protect myself,” said Rutgers University junior, Rachel Rodriguez.
When asked where she would you go if there wasn’t a Planned Parenthood, senior Mandi Shaw-Koehler said, “I honestly don’t know. I would have to look into that. It’s just my go-to place. I’ve always come here for their services.”
Planned Parenthood wants to refocus attention away from abortion. Like one student said, if you get proper health care and birth control it makes having to confront a traumatic abortion far less likely.