Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus called out the media for its failure to report evidence that Planned Parenthood, an organization generally backed by Democrats, supports infanticide. In an April 3 commentary piece published on the conservative blog Red State, Priebus quotes the testimony of Alisa LaPolt Snow, a representative of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, to back his claim.
Snow appeared before the Florida House Subcommittee on Civil Justice last week to voice opposition to the Born Alive Infants Protection Act (HB747). The act requires that infants born alive following an abortion attempt be given the same rights and level of medical care provided for any child born alive.
Snow testified that Planned Parenthood takes the position that medical decisions should be made by the patient and healthcare provider rather than state legislators. Rep. Jose Oliva asked Snow if the “child struggling on the table” could be considered the patient. Snow responded that she did not know how to answer that question.
Planned Parenthood operates more than 750 health clinics nationwide. They offer free, or low-cost, reproductive health services, which, in many of their clinics, includes abortion services. The organization was founded by Margaret Sanger in 1916 to provide women with information about birth control. At the time, federal anti-obscenity laws made the distribution of information about contraception and family planning illegal. Sanger’s own mother died at the age of 40 following 18 pregnancies that resulted in 11 live births.
According to the Planned Parenthood 2011-2012 Annual Report, 32 percent of their funds are used to provide contraception, 41 percent are used for the testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and 12 percent fund cancer screenings. Abortion services make up three percent of their budget.
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