The Patriot Post® · Haley's Comment: Gov. Fires Back at Planned Parenthood
Not everyone agrees with Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) that Planned Parenthood is “one of the finest organizations in America!” Just ask Governor Nicki Haley (R-S.C.). Like several other states, South Carolina was so appalled by the group’s black market for baby parts that it launched its own internal investigation of Cecile Richards’s group. What it found was nothing short of shocking. According to the state government’s report, the President’s favorite abortion group exhibits the same disregard for laws that it does for lives. The state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control [DHEC] discovered so much wrongdoing that it had to temporarily shut down operations.
“The entire country was shocked by the videos showing Planned Parenthood employees’ horrifying disregard human life. That prompted me to ask our appropriate state agency to investigate whether such wrongdoing was taking place in our state. The DHEC has … concluded that all three abortion clinics in the state are in fact in violation of South Carolina laws or regulations. This is completely unacceptable,” Governor Haley told the press. “I fully support DHEC’s actions, including its referral of the matter to SLED. South Carolina is a compassionate state, and we are a state of laws. We will not tolerate law-breaking of any kind, particularly as it relates to the callous treatment of human life.”
Meanwhile, in Ohio, Governor John Kasich ® doesn’t seem to understand what all the fuss is about. While Planned Parenthood rips apart tiny children for profit, the self-identified “pro-lifer” thinks conservatives “focus too much on just” abortion. Kasich has yet to respond to pro-life leaders in Ohio calling on him to follow the lead of conservative governors and cut off the $1.3 million in state funds going to the abortion giant.
In the meantime, even Office Depot is coming to its senses on the changing political landscape. After refusing to make 500 copies of a pro-life flyer for a Catholic priest, the company abruptly reversed course after a flood of complaints — including a legal one from Thomas More Society. Despite insisting the prayer “‘falls within the definition of graphic material and/or 'hate material,’” CEO Roland Smith later apologized and welcomed the customer to come back. “Our initial reaction was not at all related to her religious beliefs.”
Deal or No Deal?
Nancy Pelosi’s political philosophy is not only alive — it’s wreaking havoc on the Iran debate. Passing the deal to find out what’s in it seems like a particularly dangerously proposition this time around, but that’s exactly what Democrats are suggesting Congress do on Iran’s nuclear armament. After trying — and failing — to demand full disclosure on any U.S. secret side deals in the deal before Congress, House and Senate conservatives are exhausting every possible avenue to fight the President’s suicidal policy.
Desperate to keep the sanctions on Iran in place, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kans.) is one of many Republicans advocating that the House use the power of the purse to rein in the White House’s agenda. “We’ll do our best to constrain the President,” he said, realizing that is no small task for an administration bent on lawlessness.
In the meantime, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who also has a government funding battle on his hands, vowed the debate “is far from over” after his party failed to kill the agreement in round one. “This is a bad deal with decades-long consequences for the security of the American people and our allies,” he insisted. “And we’ll use every tool at our disposal to stop, slow, and delay this agreement from being fully implemented.”
Including, it seems, the courts. After the D.C. Circuit Court agreed the House had standing in a recent ObamaCare case, members are hopeful the same would apply here. Conservatives could sue to define the agreement as a treaty (which would require far greater support to pass) or challenge the President’s refusal to give them all of the paperwork on the deal. Either way, most members realize what this White House does not: America cannot afford to misplace trust in Iran. Otherwise, the clock won’t be the only thing that’s ticking.
This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.