Free Planned Parenthood advertising, courtesy of the Miss America pageant:
Here’s the transcript of the Q&A with “Miss Tennessee,” Hannah Robison:
Vanessa Williams: Hello. Take a breath. It’s a tough one. Some legislators are threatening to shut down the government over federal contributions to Planned Parenthood, even though no federal funds can be used for abortions. Should Planned Parenthood funding be cut off?
Hannah Robison: I don’t think Planned Parenthood funding should be cut off. The $500 million that gets given to Planned Parenthood every single year goes to female care. It goes for scanning for cancer, it goes for mammograms. And if we don’t give that funding to Planned Parenthood, those women will be out of health care for reproductive causes.
So much wrong in so little space.
Myth #1: Planned Parenthood performs mammograms.
No, it doesn’t. As Sean Davis noted last month at The Federalist, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration keeps a list of every licensed mammogram facility in the country. None of them are operated by Planned Parenthood. Zero. Planned Parenthood does refer women to licensed mammogram facilities, but that is a service offered by plenty of clinics and organizations, most of which do not provide abortions. Which brings us to . . .
Myth #2: If the government does not fund Planned Parenthood, women will be without reproductive care.
No, they won’t. There are 9,000 local Community Health Centers nationwide, one in almost every congressional district, outnumbering Planned Parenthood clinics by more than ten-to-one. They provide a wider range of services (e.g., mammograms!), they are more responsive to local health needs — and they do not provide abortions. Federal monies could be transferred here with no loss to women’s reproductive care. In fact, that was just what the Senate’s Planned Parenthood defunding bill would do.
(SEMI-)Myth #3: Federal money is not used to perform abortions.
Well, maybe — if you take Planned Parenthood’s word for it. Under current law, federal money cannot be used to fund abortions. But as I’ve written before, what does this actually mean? A: Nothing. Money is fungible. What the federal government’s subsidy amounts to is a $528.4-million cushion on top of which Planned Parenthood can butcher more babies. And that’s assuming Planned Parenthood is following the law to the letter. Which I doubt.
Planned Parenthood’s mythmaking has been spectacularly successful. I imagine Miss Tennessee is well-meaning and just woefully misinformed. But she is far from alone.