Cecile Richards on Whether She Is Running for Office: ‘Never Say Never’

WASHINGTON DC- JUNE 09: President and CEO Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards onstage at th
Jennifer Graylock/WireImage

Departing Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards is saying, “Never say never” to anyone who asks whether she will be running for elected office.

NewsBusters’ Katie Yoder tweeted a series of clips of Richards responding to the question asked by various talk show hosts as she makes the rounds promoting her new book, Make Trouble:

On Tuesday, Richards appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Willie Geist.

“A lot of people are wondering if you’re stepping away from Planned Parenthood to get into elected politics yourself,” said Geist. “Is that something that’s on your mind?”

“Never say never,” replied Richards, who advocates for more pro-abortion women to run for office in her book.

While Brzezinski heaped praise upon Richards, Scarborough noted to the CEO of America’s largest abortion chain that many pro-life women are also running for office.

“What can somebody who’s pro-life learn from this book?” he asked. “Because obviously, there are a lot of pro-life women out there running [for office] as well.”

“I think a universal message is that women can’t wait until it’s their turn,” Richards responded. “I really do think that’s true. I mean, we now see women in the United States Senate, 23 women are record numbers. But still, we’re debating over basic health care issues for women.”

“Basic health care issues … like abortion?” Yoder asks. “But Richards suggested she’s ready for pro-life women to run – if they keep their views to themselves.”

“You can be pro-life and you can also understand that that isn’t something necessarily that government should be deciding for every woman in America,” Richards replied to Scarborough.

Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report shows a decline in many of whatever health care services are offered in its clinics, while its profits – driven by abortions performed – have risen dramatically.

“Under the leadership of Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood has grown to push one agenda – abortion above all else – while throwing aside any inkling of actual medical care,” Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America, said in a statement upon the announcement of Richards’ plan to resign her post.

Planned Parenthood’s “abortion above all else” narrative made headlines in January when the organization condemned the House’s approval of a bill that would require abortionists to immediately provide emergency medical care to an infant born alive during an abortion.

Nance also observed that during Richards’ tenure, Planned Parenthood “has been exposed for refusing to report statutory rape and abuse, for aiding sex traffickers, for taking money to abort black babies, and for illegally profiting off of the body parts they have aborted.”

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