222.1 - Good News: Planned Parenthood cleared again

Good News: Planned Parenthood cleared again

Yet another investigation, this one by the office of Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, has found no evidence that Planned Parenthood's clinics mishandled fetal tissue or engaged in any unlawful activity.

The investigation, was, of course, sparked by that series of lying and now widely-debunked videos alleging that Planned Parenthood illegally sold fetal tissue in other states. And like the other investigations which have been concluded, nothing unethical or illegal was found.

But officials in other states are still conducting investigations, which only serves to prove the point that this was never about abortion; videos were not reason but excuse. The reason, the purpose, is to attack the very idea of reproductive rights, the very idea of women as autonomous beings in control of their own reproductive choices. You can see that because the attacks on Planned Parenthood, the very symbol of such freedom of choice, are not limited to abortion but are intended to undermine the entire organization.

For example, officials in Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas have targeted Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, funding which cannot be used for abortions or abortion-related services, but instead covers services such as birth control and screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted diseases. And last week, the Wisconsin House passed a bill to stop Planned Parenthood from receiving federal family planning money in the state. Perhaps it was a consolation prize for Gov. Scott Walkalloveryou, whose campaign for the GOPper presidential nomination has to rank as one of the most colossal failures in political history.

Meanwhile, on a more upbeat note, Republicans in Congress tried to strip federal money for Planned Parenthood in a government funding bill; happily, they failed and it appears now that the threat to shut down the federal government over Planned Parenthood is shriveling.

This comes as a time, by the way, when according to a new Quinnipiac University national opinion poll, American voters reject cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood by a margin of 52 - 41.

Sources cited in links:
http://www.aol.com/article/2015/09/28/missouri-ag-finds-no-evidence-planned-parenthood-mishandled-feta/21242016/