Lies, Damn Lies, And GOP Statistics Involving Planned Parenthood

Republicans just can't tell the truth about Planned Parenthood, and the false outrage they generate is more than enough smoke to cover defunding the organization in state after state.  The latest battleground is Pennsylvania, where lawmakers there are literally hitting cut and paste on Arizona's horrific (and unconstitutional) abortion law, justified by the lie that Planned Parenthood performs an abortion "every 95 seconds."

Following in the footsteps of Republicans in Texas and Arizona, Pennsylvania State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R) proposed on Wednesday a bill that would prohibit the Planned Parenthood Federation of America from receiving any taxpayer funding in his state.

Metcalfe was due to appear at a press conference on Wednesday morning with anti-abortion activists who wrote the bill, including representatives from the Alliance Defense Fund and the Susan B. Anthony List. Both groups boast on their websites of how effective they have been in harming Planned Parenthood’s funding, with the Susan B. Anthony List claiming that it played an integral role in sapping more than $61 million from the women’s health provider in legislative battles across the nation.

In a prepared statement describing his bill, Metcalfe invented a number of allegations about the women’s health group, including a bizarre claim that they perform “an abortion every 95 seconds.” A similarly bizarre, admittedly invented claim landed Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) in hot water last April, when he alleged that abortions are “well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does.”

Planned Parenthood says approximately 3 percent of their patients request referrals for abortion services. The vast majority of their work pertains to preventative care, like cancer and STD screenings, birth control prescriptions and reproductive health education, for lower-income patients who are underserved by the health care industry.

The federal government and many states, including Pennsylvania, have already prohibited Planned Parenthood from using taxpayer funds to carry out abortions.

Less than 3%.  Referrals.  You know, to other clinics where abortions can be performed.   But somehow, that becomes "every 95 seconds" Planned Parenthood is doing this with taxpayer funding because all Republicans have to do is yell SLUT loudly and often enough and women magically lose the ability to determine their own reproductive health choices.

Oh, and while we're at it, let's set some facts straight about the Affordable Care Act and your rights under it, which the GOP is also trying to take away from you.