As if we all hadn’t gotten our fill of progressive explainers over the past few days, Planned Parenthood has decided to weigh in with a step-by-step guide to discussing the abortion-rights group with your family this Thanksgiving.
The piece is chock-full of wisdom that will surely come in handy. Advice such as, “Opposing Planned Parenthood is an unpopular position with American voters of all parties.” But is it? After all, nearly 80 percent of Americans support significant restrictions on abortion, as opposed to that ubiquitous abortion-on-demand that the group relentlessly promotes.
For evidence in favor of this proposition, the authors play a transparent game. “Just ask soon-to-be-former Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire,” they write. But could you not also ask Senators Johnson, Toomey, Rubio, Isakson, Blunt, and Burr, along with incoming senator Todd Young, all of whom strongly support defunding Planned Parenthood, and all of whom won their swing-state Senate races, many by imposing margins? And could one not point out that Ayotte was the only incumbent pro-life GOP senator to lose her seat, and by an extremely narrow margin to boot?
“Trump and Pence know that millions of patients rely on Planned Parenthood every year for essential health care,” the article continues. But this, too, is false. By “care,” the authors evidently mean “cancer screening,” a claim that has been soundly and repeatedly debunked. Whether or not the group provides other essential “health care” is also debatable, but it’s worth noting that Trump’s only reason for wanting to defund the group is its provision of abortion; for offering other services, Planned Parenthood has garnered his praise.
The article also brags about the many donations Planned Parenthood has received since the election (many of which were given in Mike Pence’s name). But is this really a sign of strength? After all, if the group’s financial health is as robust as it claims, perhaps Americans shouldn’t be forced by the government to contribute to the group’s bottom line.
There is almost no reason on earth why any family should spend Thanksgiving — a time when we’re meant to be especially grateful for our many blessings — debating politics, let alone the sordid realities of how Planned Parenthood does business. But if for some inexplicable reason it happens to come up, it is worth knowing that the truth is a great deal more sordid that the group would have us believe.