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For Immediate Release
February, 10 2011, 03:49pm EDT
Contact:
212-261-4433 or,media.office@ppfa.org,.
Statement by Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, on Rep. Mike Pence's Press Conference to Defund Planned Parenthood
"In the last two days, House leadership and Representative Mike Pence have made their agenda for this country abundantly clear: target women's health care programs and women's health providers under the guise of deficit reduction.
WASHINGTON
"In the last two days, House leadership and Representative Mike Pence have made their agenda for this country abundantly clear: target women's health care programs and women's health providers under the guise of deficit reduction.
"The House Republican leadership's latest proposal to completely eliminate the national family planning program, called Title X, is outrageous. This is an extreme and dangerous proposal that would abolish a program that provides lifesaving, preventive care to millions of women each year and saves taxpayers money This program has helped millions of women since 1970, when President Richard M. Nixon signed it into law.
"Simply put, eliminating the national family planning program will result in millions of women across the country losing access to basic primary and preventive health care, such as lifesaving cancer screenings, contraception, HIV testing and counseling, STI testing and treatment, and annual exams. For six in 10 women who receive medical care from doctors and nurses at family planning health centers like those run by Planned Parenthood, these centers are their main source of health care.
"If these proposals pass, more women will find out later than they should that they have cancer and many more women will be at risk for unintended pregnancies.
"In addition, Representative Pence's proposal to exclude Planned Parenthood from all critical public health funding streams will hurt Americans -- taking away health care that millions of women receive today. Representative Pence's proposal is an unprecedented, ideological attack on a specific health care provider that will result in more women losing access to the very basic health care they need.
"It is unconscionable that Representative Mike Pence and other members of Congress would link arms in a press conference today with Live Action, a discredited extremist organization whose leader has called for abortions to take place in public.
"There is a coordinated and highly political effort to undermine Planned Parenthood and the health care we provide. This effort includes fraudulent activities driven by organizations with a clear mission to eliminate family planning, birth control, and legal abortion. Simply put, their goal is to prevent women from accessing reproductive health care services. That is unacceptable and immoral.
"Representative Mike Pence's bill to defund Planned Parenthood and his support to eliminate the national family planning program (Title X) is bad policy and bad politics. That's why we urge Congress to reject this dangerous proposal."
BACKGROUND:
Other members of Congress scheduled for attendance: Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH), Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC), Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY), Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD).
Data on Representative's states receiving Title X funding:
Indiana Title X Funding details:
28 health centers
77,364 clients served
14,440 patients Title X
50.11% of Title X female contraceptive patients served by Planned Parenthood
67,719 STI Tests
16,435 Pap Tests
20,908 Breast Exams
Maryland Title X Funding details:
Receives Title X Funding
10 health centers
36,369 clients served
15,621 patients Title X
32.76% of Title X female contraceptive patients served by Planned Parenthood
40,491 STI Tests
7,878 Pap Tests
7,528 Breast Exams
Missouri Title X Funding details:
Receives Title X Funding
17 health centers
52,382 clients served
18,631 patients Title X
42.35% of Title X female contraceptive patients served by Planned Parenthood
74,944 STI Tests
13,177 Pap Tests
13,034 Breast Exams
New York Title X Funding details:
Receives Title X Funding
68 health centers
223,148 clients served
153,290 patients Title X
58.11% of Title X female contraceptive patients served by Planned Parenthood
321,913 STI Tests
71,804 Pap Tests
70,555 Breast Exams
North Carolina Title X Funding details:
9 health centers
30,066 clients served
602 patients Title X
8.02% of Title X female contraceptive patients served by Planned Parenthood
20,215 STI Tests
5,777 Pap Tests
5,456 Breast Exams
Ohio Title X Funding details:
35 health centers
97,441 clients served
63,529 patients Title X
56.58% of Title X female contraceptive patients served by Planned Parenthood
110,910 STI Tests
24,193 Pap Tests
23,231 Breast Exams
Live Action's History of Deceptive Editing
Several news organizations have analyzed Live Action tapes, and found evidence of selective editing to create a false impression. Live Action has a history of using deceptive tactics and doctoring video.
2011: Roanoke Times Editorial: Scam video. An editorial in the Roanoke Times rebutted Live Action's edited tape, saying: "Live Action's scurrilous attempts to portray Virginia Planned Parenthood clinics, including the one in Roanoke, as willing facilitators of the sexual exploitation of girls must be denounced for what they are: lies.... What Live Action's surreptitious taping does not -- indeed, could not possibly -- show is the clinic staff's real response to their strange, disturbing visitor." (Roanoke Times editorial, 2/8/11) https://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/276293
2010: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Rebuts Live Action's edited tape in Wisconsin. An editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel exposed Live Action's edited tape, saying: "Live Action says there were conflicting statements in the video about fetal viability, when it's a baby and heart tones vs. heartbeats. But a viewing of the fullest tape available reveals that the clinician and doctor go to lengths to tell the woman about embryonic and fetal development. She leaves before she can be examined." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/2/2010) https://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/99791324.html
2009: Los Angeles Times Rebuts Live Action's edited tape in Indianapolis. The Los Angeles Times analyzed a videotape Live Action made inside an Indianapolis Planned Parenthood health center and said, "The conversation in the uncut version is more nuanced than the edited five-minute version, and includes a staffer stating emphatically, 'We have to follow the laws,' and another urging Rose to tell her mother about the pregnancy." (Los Angeles Times; 4/26/09) https://articles.latimes.com/print/2009/apr/26/nation/na-abortion26
CNN: Live Action videos reminiscent of edited O'Keefe videos. CNN reports, "the Live Action videos are reminiscent of those by right-wing videographer James O'Keefe.... O'Keefe's videos were found in at least two investigations to be so heavily edited as to be an unreliable record of what happened, showing no evidence of any wrongdoing by ACORN staff members.... The Live Action videos also appear to be heavily edited." [https://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/02/08/abortion.video.retraining/]
Media Matters: Live Action Doctors and Manipulates Video. According to an analysis by Media Matters, "Live Action also appears to have doctored the audio of its Richmond'sting,' moving audio from one portion of their video to a different portion." (Media Matters: "Why Is Live Action Doctoring Its Planned Parenthood Audio?"; 2/4/11)
https://mediamatters.org/blog/201102040026
Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is many things to many people. We are a trusted health care provider, an informed educator, a passionate advocate, and a global partner helping similar organizations around the world. Planned Parenthood delivers vital health care services, sex education, and sexual health information to millions of women, men, and young people.
LATEST NEWS
'Unhinged and Undemocratic': Florida Cops Question Abortion Petition Signers
"This is what state-authorized election interference looks like," said the ACLU of Florida.
Sep 06, 2024
Floridians and reproductive rights advocates responded with alarm on Friday to Tampa Bay Timesreporting that Florida law enforcement officers have been sent to the homes of multiple voters who signed a petition to get an abortion rights measure on the November ballot.
While Isaac Menasche told the newspaper that he isn't sure which agency the plainclothes officer who came to his home is with, fellow Lee County resident Becky Castellanos said Florida Department of Law Enforcement Officer Gary Negrinelli showed his badge and gave his card.
Both visits were about potential fraud related to the petition for Amendment 4, which would outlaw pre-viability abortion bans in Florida. Menasche was asked if he signed the petition, which he had. Negrinelli inquired about Castellanos' relative, who also signed the petition.
"This is pure voter intimidation, just like with the 'election police' in 2022. It's Gestapo tactics."
The officer inquiries appear "to be part of a broad—and unusual—effort by Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration to inspect thousands of already verified and validated petitions for Amendment 4 in the final two months before Election Day," the Times reported.
The Republican governor signed the state's six-week ban that would end if the ballot measure passes. He has also faced criticism for creating an Office of Election Crimes and Security, whose work has led to the arrest of Floridians who believed they were legally allowed to vote following the passage of a referendum that restored voting rights to many people with past felony convictions.
As the Times detailed Friday:
Since last week, DeSantis' secretary of state has ordered elections supervisors in at leastfour counties to send to Tallahassee at least 36,000 petition forms already deemed to have been signed by real people. Since the Timesfirst reported on this effort, Alachua and Broward counties have confirmed they also received requests from the state.
One 16-year supervisor said the request was unprecedented. The state did not ask for rejected petitions, which have been the basis for past fraud cases.
While Department of State spokesperson Ryan Ash said the agency has "uncovered evidence of illegal conduct with fraudulent petitions" and "we have a duty to seek justice for Florida citizens who were victimized," a representative for the coalition behind Amendment 4 criticized the state effort.
"This is very clearly a fishing expedition," ACLU of Florida spokesperson Keisha Mulfort, whose group is part of Floridians Protecting Freedom, told the Times. "It is more important than ever for Floridians to reject these authoritarian tactics and vote yes on Amendment 4 in November."
Promoting the report on social media, the ACLU of Florida added, "This is what state-authorized election interference looks like."
Democrats in the state were similarly critical. Florida state Rep. Anna V. Eskamani (D-42) shared a social media post in which Menasche described feeling "shaken" and "troubled" by the encounter with the officer.
"This is unhinged and undemocratic behavior being pushed by DeSantis and his cronies in an effort to continue our state's near total abortion ban," said Eskamani. "It's clear voter intimidation and plain corruption—continue to call it out and fight back. Vote @yes4florida and spread the word."
Responding to Eskamani, Pamela Castellana, chair of the Brevard Democratic Executive Committee, said: "This literally took my breath away. This is pure voter intimidation, just like with the 'election police' in 2022. It's Gestapo tactics. If you live in Florida you know. If you don't—please help me get the word out. Stop authoritarianism."
Journalist Jessica Valenti argued Friday that Republicans "don't care that voters want abortion rights restored—and if they need to dismantle democracy to keep it banned, so be it."
"We've seen lots of Republican attacks on pro-choice ballot measures—but what makes this one especially insidious is that it's trying to gaslight Americans into thinking that voters don't really want abortion rights restored, but that the overwhelming support is fabricated," she added.
In addition to raising concerns about the fraud allegations, Amendment 4 supporters are outraged over the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration on Thursday launching a webpage claiming that the ballot measure "threatens women's safety."
Florida Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book (D-35) pledged that she is looking into "appropriate legal action," while Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, said in a statement that "this kind of propaganda issued by the state, using taxpayer money and operating outside of the political process, sets a dangerous precedent."
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Another HELP committee member, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who is a bankruptcy law expert, on Wednesday accused de la Torre of using Steward-owned hospitals "as his personal piggy bank."
De la Torre—who according to Steward's bankruptcy filing received more than $4 million in compensation between May 2023 and April 2024—has also come under fire for his 2021 purchase of a 190-foot megayacht believed to be worth around $40 million. That year, Steward's owners paid themselves millions of dollars in dividends.
On Thursday, CBS Newsreported that in 2017 Steward executives including de la Torre illegally conspired with Maltese officials in order to secure a hospital contract, according to a whistleblower.
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Bat die-offs in the U.S. led to increased use of insecticides, which in turn led to greater infant mortality, according to a "seminal" study published Thursday that shows the effects of biodiversity loss on human beings.
Eyal Frank, an environmental economist at the University of Chicago, authored the study, which was published by Science, a leading peer-reviewed journal.
Bats can eat thousands of insects per night and act as a natural pest control for farmers, so when a fungal disease began killing off bat populations in the U.S. after being introduced in 2006, farmers in affected counties used more insecticides, Frank found. Those same counties saw more infant deaths, which Frank linked to increased use of insecticide that is harmful to human health, especially for babies and fetuses.
The study was greeted by an outpouring of praise from unaffiliated scientists for its methodology and the important takeaways it offers.
"[Frank] uses simple statistical methods to the most cutting-edge techniques, and the takeaway is the same," Eli Fenichel, an environmental economist at Yale University, toldThe New York Times. "Fungal disease killed bats, bats stopped eating enough insects, farmers applied more pesticide to maximize profit and keep food plentiful and cheap, the extra pesticide use led to more babies dying. It is a sobering result."
Carmen Messerlian, an environmental epidemiologist at Harvard University, told the Times the study "seminal" and "groundbreaking."
The study shows the need for a broader understanding of human health that includes consideration of entire ecosystems, said Roel Vermeulen, an environmental epidemiologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. "It emphasizes the need to move from a human-centric health impact analysis, which only considers the direct effects of pollution on human health, to a planetary health impact assessment," he toldNew Scientist.
Reporter Benji Jones echoed that sentiment in Vox, calling Frank's findings "astonishing" and writing that such studies could help us fight chemical pollution by corporations.
"When the link between human and environmental health is overlooked, industries enabled by short-sighted policies can destroy wildlife habitats without a full understanding of what we lose in the process," Jones said. "This is precisely why studies like this are so critical: They reveal, in terms most people can relate to, how the ongoing destruction of biodiversity affects us all."
NEW: This is one of the more stunning (and sobering) studies I've covered in a while:
It found that a decline of bats in the U.S. had come at a deadly cost to human babieshttps://t.co/M82FXxBrtO
— Dino Grandoni (@dino_grandoni) September 5, 2024
Frank, who said he started the work after stumbling on an article about bat population loss while procrastinating, happened upon an excellent natural experiment. The spread of white-nose syndrome, the fungal disease, was well tracked on a county-by-county level, leaving him with high-quality data that is hard to find for researchers who study the intersection of human and animal life.
The benefits of biodiversity on humans, and the drawbacks to its loss, are normally very difficult to quantify.
"That's just quite rare—to get good, empirical, grounded estimates of how much value the species is providing," Charles Taylor, an environmental economist at Harvard Kennedy School, toldThe Guardian. "Putting actual numbers to it in a credible way is tough."
Taylor himself is the author of a somewhat similar study that showed that pesticide use and infant mortality rose during years in which cicadas appeared; the insects do so at 13-17 year intervals.
David Rosner, a historian based at Columbia University, said the new bat study joins a large body of evidence dating back to the 1960s that links pesticide use with negative human health outcomes. "We're dumping these synthetic materials into our environment, not knowing anything about what their impacts are going to be," he said. "It's not surprising—it's just kind of shocking that we discover it every year."
Frank's claim about the cause of increased infant mortality should be taken with some caution, said Vermeulen, the Dutch researcher. He said the loss of agricultural income caused by bat die-offs could be connected to the increased deaths in complex ways.
The exact causal mechanism isn't known, Frank told media outlets, but the data shows the rise of infant mortality didn't come from food contamination by insecticides—rather, it's more likely it came via the water supply or contact with the chemicals.
Frank's other research extends beyond pesticide use. He and another researcher recently estimated that hundreds of thousands of human beings have died in India due to the collapse of the country's vulture population, as rotting meat increased the spread of diseases such as rabies.
Frank is not the first to study the impacts of white-nose syndrome on humans. Other studies have shown a reduction in land rents in counties hit by the bat plague and documented the billions of dollars that farmers have lost as their natural pest control disappeared.
The syndrome attacks bats while they hibernate. It was first identified in New York in 2006 and has since spread to much of North America. It's believed to have been brought over from Europe. It doesn't affect all bat species, but it's killed more than 90% of three key species, and bats also face a myriad of other threats, including habitat loss, climate change, and the dangerous churn of wind turbines.
Frank's bracing study should be a call to arms, experts said.
"This study estimates just a few of the consequences we suffer from the disappearance of bats, and they are just one of the species we're losing," Felicia Keesing, a biologist at Bard College, told The Washington Post. "These results should motivate everyone, not just farmers and parents, to clamor for the protection and restoration of biodiversity."
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