Politics

Planned Parenthood Staunchly Defended Christine Ford But Waited Over A Month To Mention Tara Reade

SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo credit ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Mary Margaret Olohan Social Issues Reporter
Font Size:
  • Planned Parenthood praised and supported Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford, but waited over a month to even mention 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden’s accuser Tara Reade.
  • The organization released press releases on Reade’s allegations following an announcement that Biden would discuss Reade for the first time on MSNBC Friday morning. Planned Parenthood also released a press release following Biden’s appearance.
  • Neither press release expressed support for Reade, and the first did not even mention her name. 

Planned Parenthood praised and supported Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford, but waited over a month to even mention 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden’s accuser Tara Reade.

The political arm of the nation’s largest abortion provider issued a Thursday night statement in which the acting president of Planned Parenthood called on Biden to address Reade’s allegations: namely, that he kissed her, touched her and penetrated her with his fingers without her consent in 1993 when she worked for him as a senate staffer.

The press release made no mention of Reade’s name. (RELATED: Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Biden Accuser Tara Reade And Her Sexual Assault Allegation, All In One Place)

“Saying we believe survivors doesn’t mean only when it’s politically convenient,” Acting President of Planned Parenthood Alexis McGill Johnson said in the statement. “This isn’t a fringe issue, it’s one that affects all of us. This crosses political party, race, gender, income level, and sexual orientation.”

“Any person seeking elected office — and especially the highest office in the land — needs to address allegations of sexual assault and harassment seriously, both as a systemic problem and with a sense of personal responsibility,” she added. ” We all have much work to do to make our country a safer place, free of sexual violence.”

Planned Parenthood Thursday night statement came after MSNBC had already announced that Biden would address Reade’s allegations on the network Friday morning. Planned Parenthood had previously not weighed in on the matter and had not responded to many requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation beginning April 13.

Following Biden’s appearance on MSNBC, Planned Parenthood Action again released a press release in which the organization praised Biden’s past record on domestic violence and urged him “to continue to push this conversation, and our country, forward. ”

Neither statement expressed support for Reade.

But when Ford came forward with her allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh, Planned Parenthood staunchly backed her, repeatedly issued statements in her support through both Planned Parenthood and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and organized protests and walkouts in her name.

On Monday, September 24, 2018, Planned Parenthood Action Fund organized a “National Walkout” in support of Ford and her allegations. “All you need to do is wear black and walk out — of your home, your office, your classroom, wherever you are — and post a picture to your social media with the hashtag #BelieveSurvivors,” the organization said in a press release.

The walkout was co-hosted by many other women’s groups, including the National Women’s Law Center, the Center for Reproductive Rights, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, and the Women’s March. About 46,000 people responding “going” on Facebook.

Demonstrators take the steps of the US Supreme Court to protest against the appointment of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in Washington DC, on October 6, 2018. (Photo by Jose Luis Magana / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSE LUIS MAGANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Demonstrators take the steps of the Supreme Court to protest against nominee Brett Kavanaugh. (JOSE LUIS MAGANA/AFP via Getty Images)

“Thank you, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. You should not have to relive your trauma, but we are grateful for your willingness and courage to share your story. We believe you, and we believe all survivors,” Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a September 27 statement.

The statement noted that “the unfortunate truth” is that too many of those who come forward with sexual assault stories “suffer further hurt and humiliation by having their story dismissed, their integrity doubted, or their motives questioned.”

“We Believe Dr. Christine Ford,” Planned Parenthood Action Fund said in a September 21 statement. The statement sympathized with the struggles of women who have experience sexual assault and elaborated at length on why Kavanaugh is unfit to serve as a Supreme Court justice, citing both Ford’s allegations and Kavanaugh’s opposition to abortion.

The organization also created a video slamming Kavanaugh for being accused of sexual assault by Ford.

“Sexual assault is a crime and an abuse of power,” the video says as dramatic music plays in the background. “Judges are not immune, Brett Kavanaugh is not entitled to a seat on the Supreme Court.”

WATCH:

Over a year later, the organization again highlighted Ford’s testimony and praised her for standing up against Kavanaugh.

Planned Parenthood did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the DCNF regarding their messaging over Reade’s and Ford’s allegations, or why the organization waited to weigh in on the matter until it had already been announced that Biden would address Reade’s allegations.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel