October 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota recently announced that former CBS anchorman Dan Rather will be its keynote speaker for a fundraiser dinner in Minneapolis, MN on October 13.
Planned Parenthood announced Rather as their speaker, saying, “Dan Rather, the voice, heart and soul of American journalism, is one of the most recognized and renowned reporters of our time.” The announcement goes on to chronicle Rather's coverage of significant world events as a reporter: including the JFK assassination, Watergate, and the war in Iraq.
However, Rather's coverage of life issues makes the announcement that he will be supporting Planned Parenthood's dinner not surprising to many. Scott Fischbach, the director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, told LifeNews.com, “For years viewers watched Dan Rather deliver the news of the day believing he was objective and fair, while the whole time he harbored anti-life views.
“Clearly Dan Rather has never been objective, in fact his support of Planned Parenthood proves how radical his views truly are,” Fischbach continued. “It is sad that Dan Rather has now agreed to raise money for the number one killer of unborn children in Minnesota, Planned Parenthood.”
During his time as a reporter, Rather repeatedly showed his anti-life bias in his coverage of specific stories.
According to the Media Research Center, a conservative organization that tracks the bias of modern media, Rather identified abortion as a woman's right in a 1990 interview with Senator Paul Simon. “Senator Simon,” asked Rather, ”is there any doubt in your mind that [Souter's] views pretty well parallel those of John Sununu's, which means he's anti-abortion or anti-women's rights, whichever way you want to put it?” referring to nomination of David Souter to the supreme court.
Further, Rather lauded Margaret Sanger, founder of planned parenthood, in 1998 on CBS's People of the Century.
“One thing America didn't talk about early in the century was sex. Margaret Sanger changed that. She was a true revolutionary who went to jail for the crime of promoting birth control, a phrase she coined … For half a century, Margaret Sanger spoke passionately in favor of women's rights, taking on all the enemies of birth control, including the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.”
Also, in 1993, when then-President Clinton overturned the Mexico City Policy that banned US foreign aid from going to organizations that actively supported abortion, Rather reported, “On the anniversary of Roe versus Wade President Clinton fulfills a promise, supporting abortion rights. … It was 20 years ago today, the United States Supreme Court handed down its landmark abortion rights ruling, and the controversy hasn't stopped since. Today, with the stroke of a pen, President Clinton delivered on his campaign promise to cancel several anti-abortion regulations of the Reagan-Bush years.”