Opinion

August 9, 2012 (HLIWorldWatch.org) – Despite President Obama’s lectures on “tone” and “civility,” it seems like anything goes in political warfare this election cycle. This week, a pro-Obama super PAC called Priorities USA released a campaign ad suggesting that Governor Romney is responsible for a woman’s tragic death.

Here’s their twisted logic: Romney was the CEO of Bain Capital, an asset management firm which purchased a stake in GST Steel in 1993. GST Steel went bankrupt in 2001 (two years after Romney left Bain Capital) and then shuttered its Kansas City plant, leaving steelworker Joseph Soptic without a job or employer-provided health insurance. Five years later, Soptic’s wife was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. If Soptic’s wife had had insurance, she might have been diagnosed with cancer earlier and survived. Thus, the thinking goes, her death is Romney’s fault.

If the president’s supporters believe that having a loose connection to the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman makes a person responsible for that woman’s death, is it safe to say that President Obama bears responsibility for the death of Tonya Reaves?

Reaves died last month from a botched abortion at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Chicago. She lay bleeding for five and a half hours before employees of the taxpayer-subsidized abortion provider finally transferred her to a local hospital, where she later passed away. While Reaves lay dying, Planned Parenthood employees intentionally disregarded an emergency dispatcher’s instructions given earlier that same day to call 911 in case of an emergency.

Image

President Obama is a staunch supporter of Planned Parenthood and thinks it should be funded by taxpayers. The Obama administration took action three times in July alone in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Tennessee to fund Planned Parenthood affiliates after state or local decisions were made to cut their funding.

CLICK ‘LIKE’ IF YOU ARE PRO-LIFE!

“Mr. Romney wants to get rid of funding for Planned Parenthood. I think that’s a bad idea,” Obama told crowds in Portland, Oregon on July 24. A new Obama for America campaign ad also attacks Romney for wanting to cut funding for Planned Parenthood. According to Planned Parenthood’s 2009-2010 annual report, the abortion provider received $487.4 million in government grants and reimbursements between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. During that period, it performed roughly 330,000 abortions.

Legally speaking, taxpayer dollars can’t fund abortions under state or federal law. But with Planned Parenthood’s record of corruption and secrecy, there’s no real guarantee for taxpayers. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is trying to get Planned Parenthood officials under oath to find out exactly “how they spend our half a billion dollars.”

“For far too long, Planned Parenthood and its affiliates have operated with near immunity from Congressional oversight, gladly accepting over $1 million per day in taxpayer support while claiming an exemption from the normal standards of accountability that every other recipient of public funds is expected to meet,” said Rep. Stearns.

Considering his direct support for Planned Parenthood, why isn’t Obama being held responsible for the death of Tonya Reaves? Holding Obama responsible for Reaves’ death makes more sense than holding Romney responsible for the death of Joseph Soptic’s wife.

Adam Cassandra is a communications specialist at Human Life International, the world’s largest international pro-life and pro-family organization. Follow him on Twitter: @adamcassandra. This article is a revised version of one that originally appeared on The Daily Caller. Read the original article here.