Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dodged on whether she had seen the Planned Parenthood videos released by the Center for Medical Progress on Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room.”
After playing a clip of Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina daring Hillary to watch the videos at the previous night’s debate, anchor Wolf Blitzer stated, “Planned Parenthood says the video doesn’t depict an aborted fetus. They says — they said that was from a miscarriage, had nothing to do with Planned Parenthood. This is an organization, though, you support. First of all, have you seen those very, very controversial videos?”
Hillary answered, “Well, Wolf, let’s break down what’s happening here, because I think it’s important. I know that there’s a move on by some of the Republicans in the Congress to actually shut down the United States government over their demand that we no longer give federal funding to Planned Parenthood to perform the really necessary health services that they do for millions of women. So, let’s put aside, for a moment here, that there is no debate, and there should be absolutely no argument, that Planned Parenthood does cancer screenings, it helps provide family planning, and contraceptive advice. It works to provide, you know, some of the most difficult kinds of counselling, when it comes to giving an HIV test, for example. What this is about, is the fact that some of the Planned Parenthood facilities perform abortions, which is legal, under the laws of the United States. I understand that the Republican Party, and particularly the candidates we heard from last night, wish that were not the case, wish that abortion were illegal and they could turn the clock back. So, I think we ought to be very clear that Planned Parenthood has served to provide healthcare, necessary healthcare, for millions of women. And I think it deserves, not only our support, but the continuing funding from the federal government, so that these women and girls, who are seeking the kinds of services that are provided, will be able to achieve that.”
Hillary was then asked, “Are you confident that Planned Parenthood, Madame Secretary, or any of its affiliated groups, if you will, haven’t violated any federal laws?”
She responded, “Well, Wolf, let me tell you what I know, and that is, there is a willingness on the part of Planned Parenthood to answer questions. They have been doing so. Some people may not want to hear the answers, but they have certainly put those answers out there, into the public arena. And if the issue, the core issue that some on the stage last night, or some in the Congress are trying to promote, or trying to raise questions about, has to do with the kind of research that is done, legally, in the United States, then that is an issue that goes far beyond any Planned Parenthood example. So, I think it’s important to sort out. There’s a lot of emotion. There’s a lot of accusations that are being hurled about. I think it’s important to sort out, and try to actually figure out what is going on. If it’s the services that they are trying to shut down, like providing family planning, or breast cancer screenings, that is just wrong, and women deserve to be given support, to get those services provided. If they want to shut down the legal provision of abortion services, then they’ve got a bigger problem, because obviously, they –Planned Parenthood does not use federal dollars to do that. And if they are more focused on the research that is going on, then that’s a set of issues that certainly, is not only about Planned Parenthood. So, I would hope that the Republicans, and particularly the Republicans in the House, led by Speaker [Rep. John] Boehner (R-OH) would not put our country and our economy in peril, pursuing some kind of emotionally, politically-charged, partisan attack on Planned Parenthood to shut our government down. I think that would be a very, very unfortunate decision.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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