Cecile Richards: ‘Abortion is Healthcare’

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards affirms to Rep. Diane Black and other members of the House Oversight Committee her belief that: “Abortion is healthcare.”

Black, the author of a bill that passed the House and would redirect taxpayer funds from Planned Parenthood to other federally qualified health care centers that do not provide abortions, challenged Richards on why she dismissed her legislation as not acceptable to women when those other healthcare centers outnumber Planned Parenthood clinics 20 to 1. Richards responded that they do not provide abortions and “abortion is healthcare.”

“As a nurse, I will challenge that every time,” Black countered. “Abortion isn’t healthcare.” Dr. Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life (AUL) also tweeted out Richards’ response to Black’s question:

Richards, who said that she once worked as a labor organizer and then for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, earns nearly $600,000 per year as the head of the nation’s largest provider of abortions. She also receives compensation for Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the lobbying arm of the organization.

Stating on numerous occasions that she was trying to be as cooperative as possible with the committee, Richards nevertheless evaded some questions about her abortion business, often responding she “did not know” the answer to questions a CEO might be expected to know. At one point, as Live Action president Lila Rose tweeted, she was asked if babies who survive abortions should be given medical care, Richards replied, “I have never heard of such a circumstance happening.”

“No matter what her spin, Cecile Richards’ words can’t take back what high-ranking officials at Planned Parenthood already said when they didn’t realize they were being recorded,” Rose continued in a statement sent to Breitbart News. “The undercover video footage is undeniable, and it shows Planned Parenthood violating at least three federal laws in its criminal baby organ-harvesting operation.”

“Planned Parenthood admits on video they put profits over their clients’ health by subjecting women to longer, more dangerous abortion procedures to harvest more intact baby organs to sell,” she said, adding:

In the hearing today, Richards offered no defense of Deborah Nucatola’s remarks that Planned Parenthood “can do a little better than break even” when it sells the baby organs it harvests. Richards herself in a letter to Congress admitted to charging $60 per body part, which could bring in over $500 per aborted child in addition to what it charges for the abortion itself – significantly more than the legally allowed reimbursement of “actual costs.”

When asked about a Stem Express worker who admitted she cut open the face and harvested the brain of a baby whose heart was still beating, Richards avoided discussing it, claiming that she’s only responsible for her employees, not vendors who work in her facilities.

Richards continued her disinformation campaign in the hearing, including the lie that abortions only comprise three percent of Planned Parenthood’s services, something the Washington Post has declared misleading, as Planned Parenthood absurdly equates an abortion with a urine test.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America also tells Breitbart News that Richards could not possibly defend what she and her organization do in performing abortions and harvesting the organs of aborted babies.

“Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, attempted to defend the indefensible today in front of Congress: huge travel costs, her own exorbitant salary, the lies she has told about mammograms, and of course, the chopping up and sales of aborted baby body parts,” she said in a statement. “There is no reason that taxpayers should be funding this organization. There are thousands of other federally funded health centers that provide the same or better care than Planned Parenthood and do not do abortions, and taxpayer dollars should be redirected there.”

“Watching Ms. Richards, and her allies in the room who parroted Planned Parenthood talking points, was sickening and disheartening,” Hawkins added. “They are actively deceiving the American public and the taxpayers who are subsidizing a possible criminal enterprise.”

Both Rose and Hawkins agree that while they are pleased Congress is finally investigating the activities of the abortion giant, ultimately they seek to eliminate Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding.

“American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize an organization that profits off criminal behavior and the inhuman practice of harvesting and selling aborted baby body parts,” Rose said.

During her testimony, Richards and her Democrat supporters on the committee also repeatedly vilified David Daleiden, president of Center for Medical Progress (CMP), the group that produced the undercover investigative videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s practices of harvesting the body parts of aborted babies for sale.

In response to Richards’ testimony, Daleiden released the following statement:

Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards admits in her written testimony before Congress today that she is “proud” of Planned Parenthood’s baby body parts harvesting program. In person, Planned Parenthood’s CEO frequently hid behind the corporate veil of Planned Parenthood’s affiliates and could not provide basic information about Planned Parenthood’s abortion revenue and fetal harvesting practices. Planned Parenthood’s CEO’s evasive testimony will only prolong the controversy over this corrupt and unaccountable organization, while taxpayers continue to foot the bill for their expanding late-term abortion business and baby parts harvesting chop-shop. Her testimony clearly demonstrates that Planned Parenthood, at least on Cecile Richards’ watch, has no intention of ending these atrocities against humanity and is not worthy of taxpayer funding.

The Center for Medical Progress continues to cooperate with the now-five Congressional Committee investigations, subject to an unconstitutional prior-restraint TRO from Planned Parenthood’s allies at the National Abortion Federation. If Planned Parenthood wants to see all of CMP’s footage released, as they claimed in the hearing today, then they should tell their cronies at the National Abortion Federation to back down from their unconstitutional suppression of First Amendment rights to free speech and citizen journalism.