September 11, 2015

All Lies on Planned Parenthood

As revealing as David Daleiden’s undercover videos are, they’re exposing a lot more than Planned Parenthood. The summer scandal is also pulling back the curtain on where several politicians stand. As the first House hearing proved, a number of Democrats seem perfectly content — if not *proud* — to support a group nonchalantly carving up tiny humans for dollars. [Wednesday], their allegiance was on full display, as they doggedly defended an organization whose grisly side business has yet to affect its lucrative relationship with American taxpayers. House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) desperately hopes to change that, inviting women who survived the excruciating procedure Planned Parenthood profits from, to testify. “Do not tell me these are not children,” pleaded Gianna Jessen. “A heartbeat proves that. So do I.”

As revealing as David Daleiden’s undercover videos are, they’re exposing a lot more than Planned Parenthood. The summer scandal is also pulling back the curtain on where several politicians stand. As the first House hearing proved, a number of Democrats seem perfectly content — if not proud — to support a group nonchalantly carving up tiny humans for dollars.

[Wednesday], their allegiance was on full display, as they doggedly defended an organization whose grisly side business has yet to affect its lucrative relationship with American taxpayers. House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) desperately hopes to change that, inviting women who survived the excruciating procedure Planned Parenthood profits from, to testify. “Do not tell me these are not children,” pleaded Gianna Jessen. “A heartbeat proves that. So do I.”

As she shared, Jessen’s mother tried to abort her seven months into pregnancy — and failed. Gianna was told later that “a bucket of formaldehyde in a utility closet” was meant to be her fate until two nurses intervened and saved her life. “Planned Parenthood is not ashamed of what they have done or continue to do,” Gianna said. “But we will have to give an account, as a nation, before God, for our apathy and for the murder of over 50 million children in the womb. Every time we falter in courage as individuals and fail to confront this evil, I wonder how many lives have been lost in our silence… How many children have died and been dismembered, and their parts sold, for our ego, our convenience, and our promiscuity? How many Lamborghinis were purchased with the blood of innocent children?”

While the rest of the room was taken aback by her emotional testimony, Democrats sat almost passively — until it was time to defend Planned Parenthood. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee was one of the most militant, insisting that the idea that life has value is old-fashioned. “It’s a new America,” he insisted after a heated exchange. “We are not going back to [Dwight Eisenhower’s] America.” Then, as liberals are wont to do, he tried to twist the discussion into something it wasn’t: a hearing to overturn Roe v. Wade. “It’s about abortion, period. For me, Planned Parenthood is part of my DNA. It’s one of the finest organizations in this country. It helps women, women of color, poor women, and it gives them a choice.”

Organizations that brag about the butchery of innocent children are not “fine” — nor are they helping women. And while Democrats want desperately for Americans to believe that Planned Parenthood is the only option for women’s health care, the reality is (as ADF’s maps show) far different. As Goodlatte himself pointed out, there are more than 13,000 health clinics in the country that aren’t under investigation for criminal activity — and more importantly, provide compassionate, honest, and proficient care to women in need. The idea that Republicans are fighting to take those services away is a prime example of how the liberals lie and distort the truth.

“The dollar amount [for women’s health care] will be exactly the same…” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) explained. “It will go to other organizations that are not involved with what looks like criminal activity.” No one is advocating that women lose care — they’re advocating that they get better care. And that doesn’t include risky procedures, manipulated to produce a better “harvest.”

An example of those procedures was at the center of an extremely eye-opening exchange between Goodlatte and the Democrats’ witness, Priscilla Smith, who was asked if she thought the “dilation and evacuation” abortion is “humane.” She responded that, yes, “for a fetus, a pre-viable fetus, a D&E procedure is a very humane procedure.” A stunned Goodlatte replied, “…Your view of humanity and mine are very different.” And that, on a very fundamental level, is the problem. This debate is about a lot more than Planned Parenthood or even a half-billion taxpayer dollars. It’s about the inherent dignity and worth of each God-created life. A dignity, many Americans believe, is worth fighting for.

A Cure for What Jails You

The courage of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis isn’t just changing the conversation — it’s changing the political landscape. In places like Missouri, where state officials watched with horror as Davis was hauled off to jail for her Christian beliefs, leaders are moving quickly to protect their people from the same fate. Already, the Show Me State is showing its sincerity on the issue by finding sponsors for legislation to ensure religious liberty protections. At the next session, State Senator Kurt Schaefer has already indicated his intent to introduce a measure that “will protect individuals, corporations, religious organizations, and others who hold religious beliefs that do not comport with same-sex marriage proponents.”

The Supreme Court created this mess — now it’s incumbent on states to protect the victims mired in it. At least two of the GOP presidential hopefuls are lobbying for better conscience protections, including Senator Rick Santorum and Dr. Ben Carson. “There should be some accommodation made for people of faith,” Santorum told Fox News. “I mean, this is a very serious religious matter.” Kim Davis’s case, he pointed out, “isn’t going to be the only time we run into this situation.”

On the same network, Dr. Carson took things a step further and called on Congress to act on the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), saying that members “now [have] a responsibility to step up to the plate and enact legislation that will protect the First Amendment rights of all Americans.” It’s an unfortunate reality, considering that the Bill of Rights should be enough to protect anyone — including Kim Davis. But in the current political climate — one increasingly hostile to America’s first freedom — the courts seem to have lost their grasp on the long history of religious accommodation in this country.

Far from the media’s portrayal, Kim isn’t trying to defy a federal judge. She’s simply asking for the ability to do her job without also violating her beliefs. It’s a simple request — one that smacks with irony when you consider this White House’s proclivity for other “exemptions.” The President doesn’t seem to mind making bypassing Congress to make accommodations for his radical abortion, immigration, or transgender agenda. But when it comes to Christians, who have a constitutional right to accommodation, his party is suddenly opposed.

In this intense effort to subdue religious liberty, the Left is demanding complete and utter subservience to homosexuality. And while the Court redefined marriage, it did not redefine the First Amendment. Thank goodness for heroes like Kim Davis, who refuses to let them insinuate as much. We applaud her. In the face of intense pressure, she’s shown more courage than most men in elected office! Hear more about her case in my interview with her attorney, Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver, from [Wednesday’s] “Washington Watch.”


This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.