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September 30, 2015

Planned Parenthood Head Faces Off with Republicans in House Panel 
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Planned Parenthood's president, Cecile Richards, faced off with
Republican lawmakers before a House panel Tuesday amid renewed
Republican attempts to defund the national health organization. During
the hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee,
Richards responded to Utah Congressmember Jason Chaffetz's claims that
Planned Parenthood misuses federal funding.

Cecile Richards: "There's been a great deal of misinformation circulated
about Planned Parenthood recently, and I want to be absolutely clear at
the outset: The federal funding that Planned Parenthood receives allows
our doctors and clinicians at our health centers to provide birth
control, cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually
transmitted infections."

Cecile Richards then went on to testify that Planned Parenthood does not
sell fetal tissue to researchers and that the videos Republicans are
using to make these claims are heavily edited and do not serve as
evidence.

Cecile Richards: "The outrageous accusations leveled against Planned
Parenthood, based on heavily doctored videos, are offensive and
categorically untrue. I realize, though, that the facts have never
gotten in the way of these campaigns to block women from healthcare they
need and deserve."

The hearings come after Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mc Connell failed
to secure enough votes to defund Planned Parenthood last month. A recent
Reuters poll shows the majority of Americans support federal funding for
Planned Parenthood.

 

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