There is a huge controversy roiling PP about whether it should continue to receive federal funding. I say not. But that point aside, it has mounted the usual defense to deflect from its abortion services, sexualizing teenagers in its “sex education” services, and covering up of potential incest and statutory rapes of underage girls, which critics believe should cause the government to let the organization make it on its own dime.
One claim made on television in defense of federal funding, by its president, Cecile Richards, was that PP provides mammograms, and thus, cutting the federal money artery will harm women by denying them proper cancer screenings.
Big mistake. Apparently PP does not actually provide the mammograms. Lila Rose, who has been on a sting campaign against PP checked it out. From the advocacy video:
That still didn’t feel right to me. So I did a Google search. I went to the PP Website. Then under the heading “Health Info and Services,” I found “Mammograms.: I hit the link: Here is what it said:
Where Can I Get a Mammogram?
Ask your health care provider, health department, or staff at your local Planned Parenthood health center about where you can get a mammogram in your area.
So, PP does not provide mammograms.
I won’t accuse Richards of lying. She might have misspoke–although that seems a bit hard to believe–or corrected herself after the quote–the video sure cuts off the conversation abruptly.
But this much is clear: PP provides very general information about mammograms and will tell women where they can be obtained. But, it does not offer the screening itself. Big Diff, and certainly not a justification for federal funding. Fact check!
March 30th, 2011 | 11:14 am
All of the health services for women currently provided at Planned Parenthood can easily be provided at the local community clinic.
March 30th, 2011 | 11:38 am
Planned Parenthood consistently misleads, and has no business whatsoever receiving taxpayer funding…
(From a newsletter I received)
… we state(d) that “98 percent of [Planned Parenthood’s] services to pregnant women are abortions.”
Tait Sye, a spokesman for Planned Parenthood, complained to the liberal Huffington Post that we didn’t include all the contraception services that Planned Parenthood provides.
“They’re looking at the number of abortions compared to adoption referrals to come up with that number.”
He can’t refute what we said. And that’s because those statistics came right from Planned Parenthood’s Annual Report itself. (1)
According to their own fact sheet, Planned Parenthood helped 7,021 patients with prenatal care and logged only 977 adoption referrals in 2009. Those combined services account for just 2% of their services to pregnant women.
So what accounts for the other 98%? You guessed it: Abortion.
Planned Parenthood performed 332,278 abortions in 2009 — in fact, Planned Parenthood is America’s largest abortion provider.
So for every adoption referral, Planned Parenthood performs 340 abortions.
They don’t care about helping low-income pregnant women unless those low income women want an abortion!
(1.) Planned Parenthood Fact Sheet, February 2011.
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/PP_Services.pdf
March 30th, 2011 | 12:15 pm
Wow. That really is shocking, and disappointing.
JustChris Reply:
March 30th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
@Safepres, What’s even more shocking Safepres is when you compare that to their numbers over a decade ago. In 1997, they had half the amount of abortions (and half the amount of federal funding) and 9,381 adoptions. They had something like 2.5 million clients back then, 3 million now so you can tell which sector their growth has been in. Recently, they started requiring every affiliate to operate an abortion clinic in its territory. As philosopher and basketball guru Rasheed Wallace once said, “ball don’t lie!”
March 30th, 2011 | 6:27 pm
I don’t trust anything Lila Rose or her organization says. They have no qualms about lying *to* PP (because “it’s for a good cause”) … surely they would have no opposition to lying *about* PP “for a good cause.”
That said, PP should not be funded.
Daniel Reply:
March 31st, 2011 at 8:51 am
@Jill,
Anybody can see that the lying *to* PP was done in order to infiltrate and to expose PP’s own motives and practices.
What I don’t understand, is how one can say that video footage can lie *about* anything.
That makes absolutely no sense.
The whole point of getting video footage is to document actual conversations.
There is no lying *about* involved.
Wesley J. Smith Reply:
March 31st, 2011 at 9:18 am
Which is why I looked up the info on the PP site. She said they do ms and they don’t. The part where I think media went a little nuts is in playing the phone calls. Unnecessary. It’s right on the site.
By the way, in researching this post I saw where another PP funding supporter also mentioned mammograms.
HistoryWriter Reply:
April 2nd, 2011 at 7:16 am
@Daniel,
I see. Lying for a “good” reason is OK, but lying for a “bad” reason isn’t? The end justifies the means? Let’s try your logic on for size:
1. Murder is killing someone for a bad reason.
2. Advancing the cause of Communism is a good thing.
3. Therefore, if I kill you to advance the cause of Communism it isn’t murder.
Outrageous? Yes, but the Soviets used it for years. So much for your argument.
HW
Daniel Reply:
April 2nd, 2011 at 5:33 pm
@HistoryWriter,
Duh.
You missed my point entirely.
I didn’t say *anything* about lying being right.
My point was when and how did Lila Rose lie *about* Planned Parent Hood?
Perhaps you could point that fact out to me. (The lying *about* PP)
As is your wont, you miss the forest for the trees.
HistoryWriter Reply:
April 3rd, 2011 at 8:50 pm
@Daniel,
Because the facts show that at least one PP affiliate DOES perform mammograms.
Since Lila Rose is an admitted, established liar, should we not be suspicious of anything she says? Or are you willing to overlook her dishonesty because she “lies for a good reason?”
HW
Daniel Reply:
April 3rd, 2011 at 9:24 pm
@HistoryWriter,
You crack me up.
PP gets exposed severally, and you rant on about the “lying” part, completely ignoring the duplicity of PP and then you dredge up ONE affiliate that provides mammograms.
Again, you miss the forest for the trees.
March 30th, 2011 | 8:35 pm
Hi Wesley,
Richards did not correct herself after the quote. Planned Parenthood claims she was misquoted (http://tinyurl.com/488ez9v). Oddly enough, they cite the full interview as proof. Have a look at the original footage:
http://tinyurl.com/4gm39sz
Proper context, no? If Richards did not tell a lie, her defense is certainly and intentionally untrue!
One lie leads to…
March 30th, 2011 | 10:47 pm
Perhaps she thinks her organization actually performs mammograms at certain clinics?
Is this what she is referring to, though:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ppsi/free-mammograms-pap-smears-17602.htm
Interestingly, some Planned Parenthoods will perform vasectomies, though, but they aren’t free.
Anyways, compared to the current union-busting, the failure of trickle-down economics, corporate welfare, our annual 1 trillion $ military-industrial complex, and endless foreign wars, isn’t this gaffe/ignorance quite minor in comparison – from an economic/federal funding angle?
JustChris Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 8:13 am
@David, David, you didn’t read what you actually posted. Read that link again, especially this part: “Application forms can be filled out at all of our clinics. After your application is received, you will either be mailed a packet or contacted by phone to enroll, and we will assist you in setting up an appointment with a local medical provider for your FREE screening.” They don’t provide the actual service.
March 30th, 2011 | 10:57 pm
Planned Parenthood caught lying? I’m shocked…. Cecile Richards knew Planned Parenthood doesn’t do mammograms. She knew the media wouldn’t look it up. She just didn’t expect them to report it when Lila Rose exposed it. The continuing scandals and recent scandals show Planned Parenthood can’t be trusted and not one dime of taxpayer funding should go to them except to shut their doors and clean up the toxic moral waste they’ve left behind. Sexual predators routinely use their clinics, their birth control dispensaries and other abortion clinics to cover up and continue their sexual crimes. Not only should they not receive any federal money, we need MORE parental notification laws for minor teens and preteens considering abortion. We also need to pass the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act to prevent sexual predators and others from taking minor teen and preteen girls across state lines to evade state parental notification laws. That will not only continue to reduce teen abortions, it will protect the girls. In legislature’s like Nevada’s we have notification or consent bills for teens and preteens for tanning salons and our AG does nothing about reinstating our parental notification law regarding abortion. The recent and continuing Planned Parenthood scandals show why we need these laws immediately and why they should not receive one dime of public support.
March 31st, 2011 | 8:25 am
Planned Parenthood flubs and , arrrrgh!! the world is coming to an end. Lila Rose lies in her teeth and — ahhh, ain’t life wonderful. You guys have a distorted sense of values.
HW
holyterror Reply:
March 31st, 2011 at 5:06 pm
@HistoryWriter, LOL HW, you are hilarious sometimes. Actually you remind me of something somebody I am close to does when he is feeling picked on and he knows it’s for a good reason: dig in and throw out the “morality” insults.
Do you honestly think that Cecile Richards doesn’t know whether PP does mammograms? And if she was mistaken, why not just say that? Instead of claiming to be misquoted?
If some conservative talking heads were doing this about a volatile topic you would jump all. over. it.
HistoryWriter Reply:
March 31st, 2011 at 6:23 pm
@holyterror,
And you’re implying that Lila Rose ISN’T a liar? Is that right?
HW
holyterror Reply:
March 31st, 2011 at 7:17 pm
@HistoryWriter, I didn’t defend Lila Rose’s tactics. I just noted your avoidance of the point of this post. You were trying to change the subject by misdirection and insult. Your response was also a change of subject!
HistoryWriter Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 9:37 am
@holyterror,
Not really. When an established anti-choice liar accuses Planned Parenthood of lying why should we take him/her seriously in the first place.
As you can see, David’s statistics for PP in Waco/Central Texas prove that Lila the Liar has done it once again.
HW
March 31st, 2011 | 12:32 pm
Planned Parenthood flubs and , arrrrgh!! the world is coming to an end.
A flub is accidental.
When it is deliberate, it’s a lie.
HistoryWriter Reply:
March 31st, 2011 at 6:22 pm
@Blake,
You mean, like when Lila Rose goes into a PP clinic and misrepresents who she is and her age? That kind of lie?
HW
March 31st, 2011 | 7:01 pm
Oh, wait a minute…
Looks like a Planned Parenthood might actually have offered mammograms:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ppwaco/images/Central-Texas-Health-Centers/SpringSummer08(1).pdf
PP said, “[funding through which] we provide mammography…”
PP claimed to provide mammography services.
Can someone clear this up, otherwise it would appear those on the political right are lying?
Wesley J. Smith Reply:
March 31st, 2011 at 7:08 pm
David: If the assertion that PP doesn’t provide mammograms is a lie, than the PP Website is the liar. Do you not read the entire post? Moreover, the head of PP hasn’t said, “Yes we do provide mammograms,” she has said she was misquoted when she said that PP provides mammograms. So, she’s lying too?
How much time out of your life did you waste trying to find that old story?
David Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 8:43 am
@Wesley J. Smith,
it literally took me less than 20 seconds to find this
How am I so certain it took less time than it does to chant the Lord’s prayer? Because I had tea in the microwave at break when I looked it up, and on the “high” setting the water may boil over past 22 seconds.
I don’t disagree with you, the PP website may not be accurate and may be hyping and over-selling. It also raises the question of what “provides” means.
But this isn’t the real issue. I find it disturbing that people are more concerned over what may, or may not be, a flub at PP over “providing” mammograms, while Republican governor Rick Scott of Florida wants to cut medical and social care for disabled and handicapped people. But, I’ve come to expect nothing less from pro-”lifers” and their political coterie.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-scott-cuts-disabled-20110331,0,2216817.story
So, where’s the outrage from the pro-life community?
HistoryWriter Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 9:39 am
@Wesley J. Smith,
And how much time out of your life did YOU waste trying to get your foot out of your mouth?
HW
March 31st, 2011 | 7:11 pm
from the report:
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF WACO/CENTRAL TEXAS
2007 SERVICE REPORT
21,850 medical exams
11,733 birth control patients
5,376 Pap smears
5,418 breast exams
5,358 tests for STIs
24,009 counseling visits
5,003 pregnancy tests
339 mammography
121 diagnostic follow-up (mammography)
1,849 emergency contraception
712 surgical abortions
534 non-surgical abortions
114 colposcopy
90 cryotherapy
250 HIV tests
21,850 HIV risk assessments
270 male services
3,350 community education contacts
2,506 Facts of Life Line Calls
98.3% of our patients live below the poverty level.
88% are adults (18 and over).
I can’t help but wonder if the real reason for the outrage is because it appears PP helps poor or non-white women (which comprise nearly two-thirds of the Waco patients).
holyterror Reply:
March 31st, 2011 at 7:30 pm
@David, “I can’t help but wonder if the real reason for the outrage is because it appears PP helps poor or non-white women (which comprise nearly two-thirds of the Waco patients).”
This is a scurrilous horrible thing to say anywhere, but especially here. Disgusting. Doesn’t deserve a response other than:
“Shame on you!”
David Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 8:47 am
@holyterror,
The outrage refers to the current outrage sweeping the right wing (just scan their websites over break), not the outrage here, at this blog. I see this was not clear; thank you for pointing it out.
JustChris Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 8:22 am
@David, Once again, you didn’t read what you posted. In your post, it specifically said they don’t do the mammography, they refer to other locations, contracting it out. Check the actual Waco centers list of services provided, they both specifically say they make referrals. My office refers women to local centers if they need help, that doesn’t mean I can go around to donors and lie to them saying we provide free help to mothers in need. You need to quit being a Google jockey and check the content.
Actually, you’re right somewhat on the outrage, that’s who they perform most of their abortions on. Guess it’s putting action to idea behind Margaret Sanger’s view that allowing the poor to reproduce is cruel because they’re genetically predetermined to be weeds amongst the human race, right?
April 1st, 2011 | 9:56 am
THANK GOD for Planned Parenthood!!!!
We should be funding them for MORE abortions.
Because remember people, these children will more than likely grow up to be the ones that need free school lunch & medicaid- on you of course! Then more than likely will dropout of school and/or get pregnant (Oh the vicious cycle) or possiblily end up in jail – all courtesey of state and/or federal funding {tax dollars}. While some people act all high and mighty about saving a few cells- Why don’t you try saving the lives of children that already here.
JustChris Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 3:02 pm
@Rob, Rob, maybe that wasn’t a serious comment and you’re just a troll, but you proved my point.
And David prolife people can actually believe that charity is a better way to help people than government programs, and still not want people to die. You’re locked into a belief that only the State can make anything happen. Perhaps you should be asking of us what are we personally doing about a problem? You can say you “care” more, but you’re one of the people allowing it to remain legally possible to abort 90% of infants diagnosed with Down Syndrome in the womb. Or is social justice and real compassion culling the herd to put them out of their perceived misery?
April 1st, 2011 | 5:41 pm
Rob: “Why don’t you try saving the lives of children that already here.”
Rob, I’m sorry I’m the one who’s gotta tell you this, but the human embryos and fetuses the anti-abortion people are trying to protect are already human beings, and are already here.
HistoryWriter Reply:
April 2nd, 2011 at 7:11 am
@bmmg39,
Oh, right. And Tinker Bell exists, and the Easter Bunny. Fetuses are fetuses, not “persons.”
HW
holyterror Reply:
April 2nd, 2011 at 11:28 am
@HistoryWriter,
I am STILL waiting for you to lay out your full definition of “person”, including all criteria with measurable parameters and methods for collecting the applicable data.
Needless to say, I would appreciate it without snark, and only truly funny irony allowed. Thank you.
.
HistoryWriter Reply:
April 3rd, 2011 at 8:43 pm
@holyterror,
Look all around you. They’re the ones who’ve left the uterus, alive. That, as far as the United states Constitution is concerned makes them persons.
HW
April 2nd, 2011 | 11:30 pm
What is the salary of the pres. of PP Cecile Richards annually? Evidently he has know idea the details of his job if he thinks mammagrams are provided byPP. Please provide us the amount of his salary…..
HistoryWriter Reply:
April 3rd, 2011 at 8:45 pm
@Alice Swain,
Cecile is a “she,” not a “he.” And what does her salary have to do with anything?
HW
April 12th, 2011 | 1:25 pm
[...] recently stated that planned parenthood performs mammograms. Is that statement correct or false? First Things (3-30-2011) It appears from this website that Planned Parenthood only refers to women to other [...]
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