PolitiFact is denouncing recent claims made about Planned Parenthood, which has garnered a lot of negative attention in the media recently. Sandra Smith, a reporter for Fox Business, made the claim that "95 percent" of Planned Parenthood's services are abortions. PolitiFact is ranking that statement as false, according to the Weekly Standard.
The fact-checking website the goes on to explain why they're calling the statement "misleading." Abortions make up 94 percent of Planned Parenthood's "pregnancy" services - not total services. Planned Parenthood does not offer prenatal care. Preventive care comprises about 85 to 90 percent of all their services. Overlapping services - other than abortion - account for 97 percent of services, including contraception, STD testing and treatment and cancer screenings, according to PolitiFact. Planned Parenthood does not perform mammograms, which would be considered preventative care, but instead, makes referrals to clinic that do.
In a recent article, PolitiFact explained the current Planned Parenthood controversy. A pro-life group called the Center for Medical Progress has released videos purportedly showing Planned Parenthood staffers illegally selling aborted fetal tissues to medical research labs and related institutions. This is what started the current controversy.
Women may consent to donating their aborted tissue according to a 1993 Act. Federal law prohibits women from knowing how the tissue is used. It also prevents the women from profiting from that tissue. Fetal tissue has been used in medical research since the 1930s, according to PolitiFact, but outright selling of body parts is against the law.
In 2013, Planned Parenthood received over $520 million in state and federal funding, mainly through Medicaid reimbursements and federal grants. Planned Parenthood says that 2.7 million women and men visit their health centers annually, according to the Washington Post.
Planned Parenthood performed 327,166 abortions in 2013, according to Life News. By their findings, abortions account for nearly 94 percent of Planned Parenthood's total services.
