While the U.S. House votes this week on a measure to defund Planned Parenthood via the complex reconciliation process, key questions remain unanswered—as public tax dollars continue to be entangled with the nonprofit group’s finances.
When a series of undercover videos thrust Planned Parenthood into the national spotlight, leaders in Congress began an investigation to make known any unlawful or unethical actions occurring at Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide—facilities which currently receive over $528 million annually from American taxpayers.
Over the past two months, the U.S. House has held four hearings investigating the practices, finances and other aspects of the nation’s largest abortion provider. The latest Planned Parenthood hearing held on October 8 offers instructive insights on where the debate stands.
1. One Woman’s Firsthand Abortion Account Silences Both Sides
While the Planned Parenthood hearings have often been misdirected to other topics—in this hearing, voting rights and Benghazi were mentioned—the vital importance of the issues at hand sometimes shines through.
All the talking points and political critics were silenced when Luana Stoltenberg spoke up. “I was a teenager when I had my first abortion,” she began.
“I was too afraid to tell my parents that I was pregnant, and my boyfriend didn’t want a baby,” continued Stoltenberg. “So I made the appointment with Planned Parenthood. I was so scared when I arrived …” The emotion of her narrative riveted the room, which went silent for over 7 minutes.
Today an adoptive mother living in Iowa, Stoltenberg shares her testimony fearlessly as part of Operation Outcry—a group that has compiled over 4,500 women’s firsthand accounts of the devastating trauma caused by abortion.
2. Hear No Evil, See No Evil
Representatives of all political viewpoints played short videos during this hearing. Many members of Congress took their role to examine evidence seriously—carefully watching the statements and footage compiled.
However, for those in the hearing room, a difference between the two sides became clear. When a video pertaining to the pro-choice viewpoint played, the vast majority of the room watched with rapt attention. Yet when the pro-life side played a video, those on the other side looked away.
“We’re not likely to learn anything new today,” said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) in his opening statement. In a hearing to present evidence, some refused to review the body of information set before them.
In fact, Democratic representatives spent committee time on a vote to strike from the record a live action video they deemed “not germane” to the hearing.
Frustrated by the other side playing politics, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) asked one colleague: “I wonder if we’ll be able to strike the video from your memory?” The video was reinstated moments later by voice vote.
3. Critic of Video Editing Plays Highly Edited Video
During the hearing, those defending Planned Parenthood attempted to cast doubt on the veracity of the Center for Medical Progress investigative videos. Rep. Cohen echoed this refrain, stating, “This entire exercise is based on heavily edited videos.”
Cohen proceeded to show a video compilation, introducing it as “a portion of the unedited video”—derived from the complete footage released by the Center for Medical Progress.
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