WASHINGTON, D.C., September 30, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – Pro-life members of Congress and outside leaders slammed Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards after her testimony to Congress yesterday.
“Cecile Richards contradicted her own organization's record when she implied support for babies' who survive botched abortions,” said Rep. Diane Black, R-TN. “She misled when she dismissed the overwhelming evidence against Planned Parenthood as 'discredited, doctored videos'[.]”
Former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, president of And Then There Were None and a LifeSiteNews contributor, said that she was “pleased to hear Cecile Richards set the record straight today that Planned Parenthood does not provide mammograms for women, despite the fact that she has claimed this in years past.”
“Now it is also time for Ms. Richards to own up to the fact that abortion is big business for the so-called women's health organization. As a former Planned Parenthood director, I can tell you that it's not 'care, no matter what' at Planned Parenthood, but rather, 'abortion, no matter what.'”
Richards was testifying in response to congressional investigations of whether her organization violated federal laws related to types of abortions and fetal harvesting. Her testimony was given to the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform; the hearing focused on how Planned Parenthood spends its more than $500 million in taxpayer money.
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Live Action president Lila Rose said that “Planned Parenthood admits on video they put profits over their clients' health by subjecting women to longer, more dangerous abortion procedures to harvest more intact baby organs to sell.”
“Richards continued her disinformation campaign in the hearing,” Rose continued, “including the lie that abortions only comprise three percent of Planned Parenthood's services, something the Washington Post has declared misleading, as Planned Parenthood absurdly equates an abortion with a urine test.”
Rose concluded: “Congressional investigation is good, but there is already an overwhelming body of evidence that exposes planned Parenthood's abortion-centric agenda and their abusive practices. American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize an organization that profits off criminal behavior and the inhuman practice of harvesting and selling aborted baby body parts.”
Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden said that “Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards admits in her written testimony before Congress today that she is 'proud' of Planned Parenthood's baby body parts harvesting program. In person, Planned Parenthood's CEO frequently hid behind the corporate veil of Planned Parenthood's affiliates and could not provide basic information about Planned Parenthood's abortion revenue and fetal harvesting practices.”
“Planned Parenthood's CEO's evasive testimony will only prolong the controversy over this corrupt and unaccountable organization, while taxpayers continue to foot the bill for their expanding late-term abortion business and baby parts harvesting chop-shop,” said Daleiden. “Her testimony clearly demonstrates that Planned Parenthood, at least on Cecile Richards' watch, has no intention of ending these atrocities against humanity and is not worthy of taxpayer funding.”
Other criticisms were leveled during the hearing. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-AZ, told Richards that Planned Parenthood is “profiting off death,” and Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Casey Mattox told LifeSiteNews that “there have been 45 different audits of planned parenthood in nine states, and in every state the auditors have found overbilling by Planned Parenthood.”
“This is something Planned Parenthood would like to ignore, but the reality is Cecile Richards admitted today that they settled a fraud claim where the Obama Justice Department cited them for $4.3 million. And that was just last year.”
