Kevin McCarthy: Planned Parenthood Probe Goes on

On Monday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters that the House investigation of Planned Parenthood for allegedly selling fetal tissue to researchers for profit will continue.

His insistence comes in spite of efforts by pro-choice activists to shut down the probe by citing last week’s fatal shootings at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado.

McCarthy pointed out that the investigative panel includes Democrats, adding that the probe is “where all pieces of information can come forward. We’ll see how that plays out,” according to Southern California Public Radio.

Answering Planned Parenthood advocates who accuse critics of the organization of nurturing an environment that contributed to the shooting, McCarthy bluntly stated, “This individual, this shooting, the thing that drove him most is he’s an evil, crazy man.”

On Monday, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told NPR:

I think it’s important to recognize that words matter. And when you use this kind of hateful rhetoric, whether you’re a politician, or whether you’re in elected office, or whether you’re in an opposition group, this kind of rhetoric towards doctors and women seeking help here has real impact….It’s alarming to see this kind of rhetoric and these kinds of smear campaigns against abortion providers and patients continue.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid had stated, “Whipping people into a frenzy of hate and anger while providing them with easy access to firearms has proven disastrous to our country. We have a responsibility as leaders to think very hard about what we say and do in this context.”

Robert Lewis Dear, accused of killing three people at the clinic in Colorado Springs on Friday, allegedly told police “no more baby parts” after he was arrested, seemingly alluding to videos of Planned Parenthood officials discussing tissue donations.

McCarthy dodged a question asking if he supports terminating Planned Parenthood’s federal funding using a must-pass bill that would remove the group’s federal payments, stating, “I do not see a shutdown happening in this process.”