Last week, Cecile Richards, the president of the nation’s largest abortion provider in the country, addressed Georgetown University. Of course, the April 20 venue was not open to everyone, just a select few–and all of them pro-abortion. During the Q&A session, Richards mocked a student for citing statistics that were also included in Planned Parenthood’s own annual report (via Students For Life):
Question from pro-life student: So, by the Guttmacher Institute’s own statistics at Planned Parenthood 94% of pregnancy services are abortions, 6% are sonograms, and less than 1% are adoption counselling. How can you say that when a woman walks into your clinic she has a choice. Because from the outside it would not appear that this is complete health care when one choice is so favored over another.CECILE RICHARDS: The Guttmacher Institute is not Planned Parenthood, but I appreciate, you know, whatever statistics you come up with. (Laughing & Clapping)
Q: These are your own statistics.
RICHARDS: We are not the Guttmacher Institute, but that’s ok. But what I am saying actually, is that I would really encourage you to come visit a Planned Parenthood center. What you will find, what I believe you will find, and you can call me if you don’t, and I am serious about that, is a health care organization that provides women the full range of reproductive health care and preventative services, nothing is more important. What is important to us is that women are free to make their own decision about their pregnancies, their families, without the intervention of politicians and that is what medicine, good medicine, is all about out. And it’s really incredible to me that a lot of the legislation that has passed, and even some of the things I am hearing now in this presidential campaign are based on the idea that women are not smart enough or able to make their own medical decisions (clapping) women make hard decisions every single day (clapping that drowns out the end of her sentence).
By the way, these same statistics are available from Planned Parenthood’s own annual report. So she doesn’t know the numbers in her own report?
Oh, and the abortion fight is just like the struggle for civil rights for black Americans (via Cecile Richards/Medium):
Based upon my Twitter feed I know there were a bunch of folks who didn’t want me to speak — so thank you for showing up!It actually is sort of appropriate, since every bit of progress we have made in this country, perhaps in the world, has been because there were people willing to speak out — even when it was unpopular.
And it is especially relevant because more often than not, it has been young people leading the charge.
Thinking back on some of the most important parts of our history: Congressman John Lewis was 25 years old when he faced down the fire hoses and police dogs in Selma, Alabama during the fight for civil rights. And he’s been part of the fight his whole life.
Students from colleges all over the South sat at lunch counters and demanded to be served.
And today, young Dreamers have faced arrest and deportation in their courageous fight for immigration rights.
And here at Georgetown, students have pushed the administration to grapple with the university’s history with slavery and racism. So I applaud you.
Our history with race in America is something we all must address — at Planned Parenthood too.
It’s important that we understand our collective history and the legacy it leaves on those still living in an unjust system.
Lack of access to health care and basic reproductive rights is a result of many factors — race, gender, sexual orientation, geography, immigration status — and to build true equity in America we must address it all.
I’m not sure these struggles are related. One involved ensuring black Americans had the right to vote to participate in the political process, and to make sure they had protections from retributive violence for such participation--and equal access to legal recourse for when those rights are violated. Things we often take for granted, like sitting anywhere in any establishment, or bus, and access to a quality education, were cordoned off to generations of black Americans and codified by racist segregationist policies. The other involves allowing infanticide to continue.
The fight for black civil rights was a struggle for millions of Americans to say a) we’re Americans b) we have rights and c) we deserve an equal shot to a meaningful and purposeful life that isn’t separated, or indicated, by race. The American Dream is open to anyone. The fight over abortion centers on allowing Americans to end lives. Last time I checked. Americans supported restrictions on abortion, with 60 percent of American women favoring a ban after 20 weeks. I don’t know of any public upwell who think we should restrict the constitutional rights of black Americans, or any American, for that matter. Why? Because there’s nothing grotesque about the principles of the civil rights fight. There is something horrific about the death of babies.
As for birth control, why is this even an issue? Catholics have no moral objections over the use of birth control by overwhelming margins. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents also support the use of birth control by wide margins as well; it’s way into the 70+ percent approval neighborhood, folks. Yet, six in ten Americans find abortion to be morally wrong. Regarding pro-lifers, three in four who think abortion is morally wrong, also feel that using contraception is morally acceptable. So, I don’t see where the fight over birth control is really grounded. Most of the country agrees with Planned Parenthood’s position in that area. Birth control is fine–it’s just when you abort babies and allegedly sell some of their body parts for a profit when things begin to get hazy and unspeakable.
Prior to the Q&A session at Georgetown, Richards said in her remarks, "I love that Georgetown students are the kind of people who don’t have to agree with someone to listen to her thoughts!" Unless you're pro-life - that's deserving of mockery.
(H/T Students for Life)