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U.S. NEWSWednesday 30 September
Facing US Congress, Planned Parenthood chief rebuts videos
ALAN FRAM based on heavily doctored
videos, are offensive and
Associated Press categorically untrue,” Rich-
ards said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Richards also said the vid-
eos have inspired an in-
The head of Planned crease in threats against
Planned Parenthood clin-
Parenthood defended ics.
The recordings have
the U.S women’s health or- pumped Planned Parent-
hood and the abortions
ganization Tuesday before many of its nearly 700 clin-
ics provide into an electric
a Republican-run Congress political issue, with many
Republican presidential
bent on slashing its federal candidates frequently lam-
basting the group. Con-
funding, telling lawmakers servatives’ demands that
Congress cut its federal
that accusations against payments — for which Re-
publicans lack the votes to
her group fed by stealthily succeed — contributed to
the Republican unrest that
recorded videos are “of- prompted House Speaker
John Boehner, a Republi-
fensive and categorically can, to announce his resig-
nation last week.
untrue.” Planned Parenthood gets
around a third of its $1.3
In Planned Parenthood’s billion yearly budget from
federal payments, mostly
first appearance before reimbursements for treat-
ing low-income Medicaid
Congress since those vid- patients. By law, nearly no
federal funds can be used
eos emerged this summer, for abortion. The group
provides contraception,
Republicans on the House sexual disease testing and
cancer screenings as well
Oversight and Government as abortions to 2.7 million
patients annually in clinics
Reform Committee argued from coast to coast.
Congress is on track to ap-
that the group needs no prove legislation this week
preventing an imminent
Michele Hendrickson, 29, of Columbia, Md., left, and Lisa Twigg, 26, of Spotsylvania, Va., take a taxpayer financing. They federal shutdown and con-
tinuing federal payments
photo of themselves wearing “Life” tape over their mouths during the hearing on “Planned Parent- cited Planned Parenthood to Planned Parenthood.
But House committees be-
hood’s Taxpayer Funding,” Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The women, who tax documents showing it gan working Tuesday on
separate legislation that
describe themselves as being “pro-life,” removed the tape after being told they had to in order to spends millions on political would cut most of the or-
ganization’s federal mon-
remain at the hearing. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) activities, travel and exor- ey and would be immune
to Senate delaying tactics
bitant salaries. by Democrats. That means
that measure has a strong
“That’s money that’s not chance of reaching Presi-
dent Barack Obama’s
going to women’s health desk, where it would face
certain veto.q
care,” said committee
Chairman Jason Chaffetz,
a Republican. “It’s a politi-
cal organization, and that’s
something that needs to
be ferreted out.”
Cecile Richards, Planned
Parenthood’s president,
told the lawmakers that her
group has fallen victim to a
“smear campaign” based
on videos in which its of-
ficials coolly describe how
they sometimes harvest tis-
sue from aborted fetuses
for scientific research.
Conservatives and many
Republicans say the vid-
eos, made by abortion foes
posing as private purchas-
ers of fetal organs, show
Planned Parenthood has
broken federal laws includ-
ing a ban on for-profit fetal
tissue sales. The organiza-
tion says it’s acted legally
and says the videos were
deceitfully edited.
“The outrageous accu-
sations leveled against
Planned Parenthood,
