Planned Parenthood Funding Cut Despite Speier Speech

On Thursday night, the House of Representatives debated whether or not to continue funding Planned Parenthood.  Around midnight, Democratic Representative Jackie Speier (CA) stepped forward and spoke in response to Republican Representative Chris Smith’s (NJ) comments on a procedure called dilation and evacuation which has been labeled under certain circumstances as partial-birth abortion. Smith said, “Have you ever seen what a [dilation and evacuation] is? The doctor goes in with forceps and this device and literally hacks that baby to death. Planned Parenthood itself says it takes 10 to 20 minutes to literally dismember that child.” Speier responded by describing how she had had to endure that very same procedure years earlier when she had suffered a miscarriage. She declared, “…for you to stand on this floor and to suggest, as you have, that somehow this is a procedure that is either welcomed or done cavalierly or done without any thought is preposterous.” After her speech, the congresswoman was applauded as she returned to her seat. While certainly heart-rending, the speech did not affect the outcome of the vote. The bill passed the House. Perhaps representatives found the speech somewhat irrelevant, as Speier’s procedure was miscarriage management rather than a voluntary procedure.

There are other reasons why the Congress might wish to distance Planned Parenthood from the federal government, including the below video and audiotapes which reveal more unsavory aspects of the organization.



— J.P. Harrington