Earlier in the heated presidential race, Planned Parenthood was an issue that was featured in many candidate appearances and debates. Used by Republican candidates to express just how conservative they were and by Democrats to show how much they care about the organization, Planned Parenthood quickly became a touchstone issue in the early parts of the race.
When allegations and videos were made purporting to show the sale of fetal organs by the organization, Planned Parenthood quickly took over the national news scene. The videos, created by the Center for Medical Progress — an anti-abortion group — claimed to feature Planned Parenthood officials illegally profiting from the sales.
On Monday, a grand jury in Harris County, Texas, indicted two abortion opponents responsible for the undercover videos on the charges of “tampering with a governmental record, a felony, and on a misdemeanor charge related to purchasing human organs,” while clearing Planned Parenthood of all charges.
In the wake of the grand jury’s decision, the Daily Iowan Editorial Board has learned two things. First, that bipartisanship has fallen to such an unmistakable low point that parties, in this particular instance Republicans, will grasp at anything they can find to undermine the ideals of the opposing party. Second, that we ought to all be impressed with the Texas legal system in this scenario. Despite being a strongly conservative state, the Texas legal system’s commitment to due process and pursuing the facts of the case is admirable.
If the grand jury of Harris County is to be trusted — as it should be — then it seems Republicans were using Planned Parenthood as a mere scapegoat in the battle against abortion and pro-choice advocates. Opinions of abortion aside, Planned Parenthood is a valuable service that does, as a fact, provide many more services than abortion. In fact, according to Planned Parenthood’s website, abortion makes up only about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services while STI/STD prevention and treatment make up approximately 41 percent of the organization’s services.
That abortion represents such a small percentage of the services Planned Parenthood offers would not, alone, exonerate the organization on charges of illegal fetal organ sales. However, it does point to the fact that Planned Parenthood has become the victim of partisan debates between anti-abortion and pro-choice candidates.
Eric Ferrero, a spokesman for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said, “These people broke the law to spread malicious lies about Planned Parenthood in order to advance their extreme anti-abortion political agenda.”
And while Texas officials have vowed to continue the investigation, as they should, a great deal of evidence has been presented to support the innocence of Planned Parenthood in the alleged illegal activity.
The debate over federal funding of Planned Parenthood will rage on with or without the accusations against the organization. Before pursuing the results in court, however, many politicians jumped on the opportunity to undermine the opposing party. If the United States is to continue with this lack of bipartisanship — though it shouldn’t — politicians must only make accusations based on facts.