Lakhota
Diamond Member
By Laura Bassett
Hours after President Barack Obama vowed to defend Planned Parenthood at the organization's national conference on Friday, Sarah Palin wrote a lengthy missive on Facebook, tying the family planning organization to Dr. Kermit Gosnell, a provider of illegal abortions who is on trial for murder.
"Considering the role Planned Parenthood has played in looking the other way while the mass murdering abortion doctor Gosnell butchered babies born alive from his horrific infanticide procedures and abused his women patients, its perhaps not surprising that this same president sees nothing wrong with allowing his name to be so openly associated with this organization," the former Alaska governor and ex-vice presidential candidate wrote on her Facebook page.
Planned Parenthood receives federal grants through the Title X family planning program, which it uses to subsidize contraception, cancer screenings, sexually transmitted infection screenings and other health services for low-income women. Planned Parenthood patients pay separately for abortion services, because the Hyde Amendment prohibits using federal funds to pay for abortions.
Planned Parenthood contends that it cannot be compared to Gosnell's clinic because it performs legal, safe abortions in well-regulated facilities. We have consistently said that this is a horrifying and outrageous case, that Gosnell ran a criminal enterprise, not a health care facility, and that he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law," said Eric Ferrero, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood.
More: Sarah Palin Ties Planned Parenthood To Kermit Gosnell Case
So, obviously anti-choice zealots are concerned by more than who pays for abortions - even when federal funds aren't used.