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 A series of videos that purport to show that Planned Parenthood
improperly sells fetal tissue to researchers for profit has
reignited anti-abortion voters' fervor during a turbulent Republican
presidential primary campaign.
At a five-hour House committee hearing, Planned Parenthood President
Cecile Richards appeared alone to respond to hostile questioning
from Republicans, some of whom have vowed to shut down the U.S.
government if federal support for the organization is not cut off.
"As far as I can tell ... this is an organization that doesn't need
federal subsidy," House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz
said at the start.
Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, said Planned Parenthood's $127 million
in profit last year showed the organization could survive without
federal funds. He accused the group of lavishly spending on travel,
hosting "blowout parties" and paying "exorbitant salaries."
Planned Parenthood gets about $500 million annually in federal
funds, largely in Medicaid reimbursements.
"We don’t make any profit off federal money," Richards responded,
adding that "outrageous allegations" against Planned Parenthood were
"offensive and categorically untrue."
She said Planned Parenthood did not use federal funds for abortions,
which comprise 3 percent of its services, or for fetal tissue
donations, which are done by 1 percent of the clinics. Planned
Parenthood clinic services include cancer screenings, family
planning, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted
diseases.
Republicans favor shifting Planned Parenthood's federal funds to
community clinics, and they grilled Richards on why doing so would
restrict access to care.
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"You can't say that Planned Parenthood is like the only place" for
low-income families to go, said Representative Mia Love, a Utah
Republican.
"But it's obviously a place that 2.7 million patients choose to come
to every year," Richards responded, adding that the move would
particularly hurt low-income, uninsured and rural patients.
Planned Parenthood has been under fire for months over videos that
an anti-abortion group produced and posted online.
Democrats had asked that David Daleiden, the anti-abortion activist
behind the videos, attend the hearing as well, but Republican
leaders did not invite him.
On the panel, Democrats defended the group and questioned
Republicans' motives.
"What is Congress doing here?" asked Democrat Peter Welch of
Vermont. "We're having an argument that's never going to end about
abortion, but we're proposing to proceed in a way that will have
collateral consequences that compromises ... women's health."
(Reporting by Megan Cassella; editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Lisa
Von Ahn)
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