WATCH: 5 Revelations You Missed at the Most Recent Planned Parenthood Hearing in Congress
So while Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) opened the hearing stating his intent to “correct the false impressions created by the highly edited, highly misleading videos,” his close colleague introduced another such video into the record.
4. Another Committee Chairman Corrects Frequent Misstatement
“There is no ground to stand on regarding the illegality of Planned Parenthood’s actions,” stated Cohen, referencing a recent CNN interview with Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah)—who chaired the committee hearing where Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards recently testified.
“I’ve heard my name several times invoked,” began Chaffetz. “The hearing we conducted in the Oversight Committee was very narrowly focused on the finances,” he said pointedly. “It’s a bit of stretch to say I have done some conclusive investigation on all the actions of Planned Parenthood.”
“Planned Parenthood has annual revenues of $127 million more than their expenses,” continued Chaffetz. “They were sending money overseas, they were spending money and giving it political organizations, they have a lot of shared services—I think these are legitimate questions as we look at the finances of an organization that is structured as a nonprofit.”
“Why do we send money to an organization where the revenues exceed expenses by $127 million dollars annually? It doesn’t sound like an organization that needs to be supplemented by taxpayer dollars,” Chaffetz concluded.
5. Liberal Congressmen Brings Up Horrific Practice of Sterilizing Women
In defending his pro-choice views, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) made a startling admission: “My mother’s only option was the one option the government of the United States gave her—which was sterilization. And for hundreds of thousands of Puerto Rican women, that was the only option.”
Writing in The Hill last week, Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Casey Mattox considers who was behind this practice. “There’s one problem with this historical narrative. The International Planned Parenthood Federation was sterilizing Puerto Rican women,” Mattox writes.
Citing several research sources related to the history of eugenics, Mattox notes, “As alluded to in Gutiérrez’s rightful condemnation, this sterilization program is one of the most shameful in history.”
Douglas Rivlin, Press Secretary for Rep. Gutiérrez, responded curtly in the article’s comment section. “Congressman Gutiérrez is well aware of the history on this matter and what his mother and others of her generation endured,” he stated.
The Congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood will continue in the coming months, primarily through a recently appointed bipartisan Select Committee.
As many differing perspectives clash in the hearings, the testimonies of women directly involved stand out—whether it’s a former Planned Parenthood employee like Sue Thayer, a former client such as Luana Stoltenberg, or abortion survivors Gianna Jessen and Melissa Ohden.
All of them also happen to be women of strong Christian conviction. “God had a plan for my life. I found hope and forgiveness in Jesus,” said Stoltenberg near her testimony’s conclusion. “Life began to change.”
After 10 years on staff at The Heritage Foundation and Focus on the Family, Josh M. Shepherd currently serves in communications at Bound4LIFE International—a grassroots movement to pray for the ending of abortion and for revival worldwide.
Reprinted with permission from Bound4LIFE.
