Last summer, The Center for Medical Progress released a video - on YouTube - of "PLANNED PARENTHOOD’S TOP DOCTOR, PRAISED BY CEO, USES PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS TO SELL BABY PARTS."
I wrote about it then. You can see that little ditty here.
At that time, my thoughts were: 1) The Center for Medical Progress wasn't a trustworthy source. 2) There was no concrete evidence in the heavily edited video. 3) It was all a political stunt. 4) An investigation needed to happen.
Well... I don't mean to toot my own horn, but.... HONK FRICKEN' HONK HONK.
In September, a month after the video was released, the Republican driven U.S. House of Representatives gave into conservatives threatening to shut down the government by passing a bill that would strip the funding for Planned Parenthood for a year. The move was simultaneous with the consideration to create a special committee to investigate the allegations against Planned Parenthood. This means politicians took this video as fact and claimed Planned Parenthood guilty before having any chance of being proven innocent. Sounds pretty American to me.
For the record, I'm going to remove the facet of pro-choice or pro-life or whatever other stances there are on abortion. I'm also going to remove the political facet of it. Even with those two (major) factors removed, the act of moving to completely defund an organization based on a YouTube video, without any sort of investigation at all, doesn't make sense. Hang first, ask questions later. And yet, it gained overwhelming political and social support.
This move was explained by a Republican Representative from Tennessee as common sense since apparently Americans have stated for a long time that they don't want abortion funded by federal dollars. I'm just gonna leave that little tidbit right there to simmer for a minute...
Side Note: One of the bills passed would have taken any of the funding
Planned Parenthood received and redirected it to clinics that don't
offer abortions. That's a pretty clear statement on choosing a side.
{Also, dear government, unless you're going to find a way to make me not
bleed and turn into a rabid werewolf with a murderous need for chocolate
each month, get out of my uterus.}
It seemed like a slam dunk for Republicans. They (dare I say it?) staged a witch hunt and were ready to execute. Then comes President Obama, who decided to go against popular opinion and stick up for the justice system by vowing to veto any such bill that crossed his desk.
The bills hit the wayside as the Republicans decided to focus on different political issues. As promised, a committee was created by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), consisting of eight members, all Republicans. The process of the investigation can be read on the GOP's government website, here. It's pretty interesting, albeit boring. I particularly liked one of the entries for September 9 where "The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled, “Planned Parenthood Exposed: Examining the Horrific Abortion Practices at the Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider.”" Whew. Good. Here I was all worried that they wouldn't be practical and open minded and actually investigate if there was any wrong doing and instead just continue manipulating their power to get the outcome they want for political and financial reasons. Glad the justice system dodged that bullet...
Seriously.
More ammo was needed, however, as during this "investigation," the media had somewhat forgotten about the atrocity that is Planned Parenthood. I mean, after all, Kimye had another baby and the Democrats were on the up and up in the debates and campaign. Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are political media gold, spreading warm thoughts and feelings like hippie fairy dust across the nation.
The Republicans got their wish when, on November 27, Robert Dear walked into a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs and opened fire. Three people were killed, including a police officer, and nine others injured. His reasons? Religion and to protect the babies. Too bad he's currently undergoing mental competency evaluations. That could have been one hell of a political endorsement speech.
Before Dear was even seen in court, Senate Republicans were again voting to defund Planned Parenthood based on the tragedy in Colorado. Because it's human nature to turn every negative into a positive.
Which begs the question of how human they are and at what point they had to sell their souls.
But I digress.
Eleven states also held their own investigations, including Texas. In a small victory this week, a grand jury in Texas cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrong doing. Instead, they accused The Center for Medical Progress of tampering with government records. The founder, David Daleiden, was also charged with buying human organs. Apparently, he's been posing as BioMax for years and trying to buy baby parts from Planned Parenthood, which the organization has previously called disturbing and never responded to.
He defends his actions as using the same undercover techniques used by journalists for years. Which is weird because no where does it mention that he used to work for Fox News. Or CNN.
Out of the eleven states holding investigations, nine have determined that Planned Parenthood is innocent. Two other states are still investigating.
Nine states have independently found that Planned Parenthood has done none of which they are being accused. Meanwhile, the government committee that is supposed to uphold justice for the better of the American people is trying to take away their funding while holding seminars about exposing the horrific abortion practices.
Just to review: 1) The Center for Medical Progress isn't a trustworthy source, as documented in a court of law by their investigative practices and the fact that they have been charged with the very illegal activity that they targeted Planned Parenthood for. 2) There is no concrete evidence in the heavily edited video, confirmed by preliminary investigations into the practices of Planned Parenthood on both the federal and state levels. 3) It is all a
political stunt. Because really, using a shooting by a religious maniac to tout your political stance on abortion is repulsive. However, good luck in the next term since you'll probably be voted into office again.
The other good news in all of this? People are standing up for Planned Parenthood. People are voicing their opinions, with words and positive actions. We're making our voices heard. We're using our brains and listening to the facts. We're asking questions and making sure things are done right. Does this mean that Planned Parenthood is completely innocent? Maybe not. There are still ongoing investigations. In reality, this issue will most likely never be solved because the root cause - abortion - isn't a factual topic, but a moral and spiritual one. You can't fight a person on their moral and spiritual beliefs. There is no right or wrong answer with that one.
It is easier, however, when political corruption and financial kickbacks aren't involved.
Oh good, I did say that out loud.
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