As Planned Parenthood officially endorsed Hillary Clinton for president on Sunday, its president, Cecile Richards, declined to comment on the sexual history of the husband of the abortion business’ chosen candidate, former President Bill Clinton.
“It’s really not the focus of this event today,” Richards told TIME when asked about Bill Clinton. “It’s a political campaign,” she added. “I’m sure there’s going to be all kinds of mud everywhere.”
Numerous women have accused Bill Clinton of rape and sexual assault.
Instead, Richards switched the focus back to Hillary Clinton:
But to me, [the] reason we’re endorsing her today—the reason why hundreds of people across this country got together—is because Hillary Clinton is a longstanding champion of women’s health and women’s rights and not just [P]lanned [P]arenthood: equal pay, access to birth control, access to safe and legal abortion.
Planned Parenthood’s historic endorsement of a candidate in a primary comes as the organization is under congressional investigation by several committees for possible criminal activity as seen in a series of videos exposing the abortion business’ apparent practices of selling the body parts of aborted babies and altering the position of babies during abortions to harvest the most intact organs.
Richards introduced Clinton by warning of the ramifications of electing a Republican president.
“We know if Donald Trump or Ted Cruz have their way we’ll [be] back in the stone age,” Richards said. “Hillary Clinton’s pledge, our pledge, my pledge will be that Planned Parenthood’s doors stay open.”
During her speech in which she accepted Planned Parenthood’s endorsement, Clinton said, “I promise you this: as your president, I will always have your back.”