A top union official Tuesday condemned those that want to defund Planned Parenthood as anti-women extremists, despite revelations that the group harvests fetus organs.
On July 14 a video surfaced showing a Planned Parenthood employee casually discussing, over a salad, how the organization harvests fetus organs after an abortion. The video became just the first in a series of footage that prompted a national backlash. With renewed calls to end its federal funding, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is now stepping up to defend the group.
“The outrageous attacks on Planned Parenthood are nothing more than extremists’ attempts to advance their political agenda with complete disregard for the potential impacts,” SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry said in a statement.
The footage was obtained by the Center for Medical Progress as part of a three-year investigative effort. Dr. Deborah Nucatola talked to undercover actors she thought were buyers from a human biologics company.
“Efforts in Congress to de-fund Planned Parenthood by anti-women, anti-choice extremists must be stopped,” Henry concluded. “It’s time for the leadership of both political parties in Congress to stand with women and against these vicious attacks on Planned Parenthood.”
Henry is not the first union leader to come in defense of the group. Last week AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the videos were misleading and politically motivated. He argued the group offers too many important services to be defunded.
The videos have also become a prominent election issue heading into 2016. Last week, Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Rand Paul introduced an amendment to cut off federal support to the group. His primary rivals Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio also condemned the videos. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on the other hand has argued the organization is important because it offers services and medical research opportunities.
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