Planned Parenthood Prez: Blame “Militant” Activists

Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, appeared on ABC’s This Week Sunday to discuss the undercover videos that have thrust her organization into a controversial light. Far from being humble and apologetic for the graphic and disgusting remarks made by her underlings, Richards was hot with scorn for her attackers.

“This has been a three-year, well funded by the most militant wing of the anti-abortion movement in this country to try to entrap doctors and, of course, highly doctored videos which show absolutely they –doctors repeatedly said, it’s all been edited out, Planned Parenthood does not at all profit from fetal tissue donation, which is an important element of health care research in this country,” Richards told George Stephanopoulos.

Richards denied that Planned Parenthood was breaking the law, refuting accusations from Republican lawmakers who want to strip the organization of its federal funding. “If they had their way, women could no longer come to Planned Parenthood for birth control services, for breast cancer screenings, for cervical cancer screenings or any other health care,” Richards said.

Well, you could always eliminate the abortion services and continue to provide the others if they’re that important. Americans aren’t disgusted with Planned Parenthood because of breast cancer screenings; they’re disgusted with the abortion practices. And if Cecile Richards really cared about those other services, she would call for an end to abortion.

That’s not going to happen, of course, because abortion is the entire reason for Planned Parenthood to exist.

“There’s no reason for Planned Parenthood to get any federal money, and basically the things they are doing are unacceptable to a vast majority of people — pro-life or pro-choice,” said Rand Paul on CBS’ Face the Nation. “Whether it’s against the law or not, my goodness, I think everybody in America is horrified by this, and they don’t want their tax dollars going to this group.”

Richards and other Planned Parenthood defenders don’t get it. They’ve become so accustomed to enjoying their self-proclaimed moral high ground in this debate that they’ve forgotten that many Americans still despise their practices. Reposition it as “women’s healthcare” all you want; at the end of the day, you’re extinguishing lives by the truckload. Believe it or not, that still strikes a great many people as revolting.

A lot of modern conservatives want to leave social issues behind. That’s a huge mistake. America isn’t the greatest nation that ever graced the earth because of its sensible tax rates. What comfort is a thriving economy if we have a culture that celebrates perversion, crime, and baby-killing? Is it too much to ask for something more?