On Wednesday's New Day on CNN, co-anchor Alisyn Camerota repeatedly fretted over the possibility that cutting off federal funding of Planned Parenthood would make it difficult for women to get abortions. In one segment, she asserted that, in doing so, "obviously it does take away a woman's right to choose."
In a later segment, she suggested that defunding Planned Parenthood would lead women to have abortions "in a more desperate way," and, speaking to GOP Rep. Diane Black, demanded: "Is that what you want for American women?"
As he plugged the first segment on the issue at 6:16 a.m., co-anchor Chris Cuomo tagged Planned Parenthood's activities as "lawful," as if this characterization were not in dispute: Cuomo:
So, the case against Planned Parenthood, very big hearing on Capitol Hill. Republicans want to cut federal funds because of its lawful procuring of fetal tissue and abortions. What the president of the organization said, and what happens, next.
Moments later, as right-leaning CNN political commentator Ben Ferguson noted that defunding Planned Parenthood would not interfere with the Roe V. Wade decision that made abortion legal, Camerota jumped in to contradict and try to talk over him:
BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So people who are trying to fearmonger, saying, "Oh, this is taking away a woman's right to choose," it's not. This is about taking away-
ALISYN CAMEROTA (INTERRUPTING): Ben, Ben, hold on, I just have to stop you there.
FERGUSON: Let me finish, let me finish, let me finish.
CAMEROTA: If you stop -- hold on, Ben, because, if you stop access, obviously it does take away a woman's right to choose.
FERGUSON: This is about -- no, no, no, let me finish. Let me finish, let me finish, let me finish.
CAMEROTA: Go ahead.
FERGUSON: Let me finish.
CAMEROTA: Go ahead.
FERGUSON: You have the same right, if we defunded Planned Parenthood with my tax dollars, and the point is this: You do not take a half a billion dollars of taxpayers' funds to give to an organization that butchers babies to sell their parts and was caught on camera multiple times.
At about 7:47 a.m., during a different segment, after Rep. Black suggested that it would be acceptable to federally fund Planned Parenthood if it stopped performing abortions, Camerota complained:
Yes, except that the problem is, is that if women can't go to Planned Parenthood anymore for abortions, abortion doesn't go away. Unwanted pregnancies don't go away. What goes away is access to safe, legal abortion. And, as we know from countries that don't allow abortion, women still resort to abortion, but they just do so in a more desperate way. I mean, is that what you want for American women?
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Wednesday, September 30, New Day on CNN:
CHRIS CUOMO, BEFORE COMMERCIAL BREAK AT 6:16 A.M.: So, the case against Planned Parenthood, very big hearing on Capitol Hill. Republicans want to cut federal funds because of its lawful procuring of fetal tissue and abortions. What the president of the organization said, and what happens, next.
(...)
CUOMO: Ben, take the prosecution because that's really what this is. What's the best case to get rid of Planned Parenthood or defund it, in essence, and, Maria, you respond?
BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The fact that they have people on camera talking about selling baby parts is where I would start. And I want to make this very clear. This is not about taking away a woman's right to choose. This -- if we defund Planned Parenthood -- this does not change Roe V. Wade. So people who are trying to fearmonger saying, "Oh, this is taking away a woman's right to choose," it's not. This is about taking away-
ALISYN CAMEROTA (INTERRUPTING): Ben, Ben, hold on, I just have to stop you there.
FERGUSON: Let me finish, let me finish, let me finish.
CAMEROTA: If you stop -- hold on, Ben, because, if you stop access, obviously it does take away a woman's right to choose.
FERGUSON: This is about -- no, no, no, let me finish. Let me finish, let me finish, let me finish.
CAMEROTA: Go ahead. FERGUSON: Let me finish.CAMEROTA: Go ahead.
FERGUSON: You have the same right, if we defunded Planned Parenthood with my tax dollars, and the point is this: You do not take a half a billion dollars of taxpayers' funds to give to an organization that butchers babies to sell their parts and was caught on camera multiple times. You can say that these videos were doctored. There are multiple videos that have been put out that are full length that are not doctored that blatantly show people in leadership roles at Planned Parenthood selling baby parts which has nothing to do with a woman's right to choose. I want to make that very clear, so that's why my tax dollars shouldn't go to it.
CAMEROTA: Okay, Maria, I want to give you the opportunity to respond here, but what Ben is saying is a fact is exactly what Planned Parenthood is saying is not a fact, that they are trying to recoup their costs for something that is purely legal, and that is donation of fetal tissue.(MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR)
(...)7:45 a.m.
CAMEROTA: Let me put up a poll for you. This is a recent USA Today poll, and it shows how the American public feels about your mission here. "Should all federal funding of Planned Parenthood be cut off?" Only 29 percent say yes; 65 percent say no, they believe that Planned Parenthood should still be funded. Furthermore, USA Today's poll went on and asked, "If the government is shut down over Planned Parenthood being defunded, who would you blame?" President Obama, 11 percent. Congressional Democrats, 10 percent. Congressional Republicans, 43 percent. So it seems as though the public, as a whole, is not with your mission here.
REP. DIANE BLACK (R-TN): Okay, so, a couple of things, Alyson. One thing is, I don't want to shut down the government, and neither do many of our colleagues. We want to shut down illegal activity of Planned Parenthood.
The second thing is, is that the American people have still not seen these films. We find that only about 15 percent of them have actually looked at the films. I encourage people to go out and look at them. And another poll that I can point to where people did see these films, and, prior to seeing them, they may have had the opinion that you have -- or that you cite in this poll. But after seeing them, we see this number go way up, that more than 50 percent of the people say, "No, you should withhold the funds until the investigations are done." So I want people to take a look at these films.
And then the third thing that I want to make sure that I get here is that, in my own bill, it says that, if Planned Parenthood decides that they're going to suspend abortions, they will still get their money for their other services. And, as Ms. Richards said yesterday, only three percent of their services are abortions, so why not suspend those and do what she says is her entire mission, and that is affordable health care for women? She has that choice. She can do that.CAMEROTA: Yes, except that the problem is, is that if women can't go to Planned Parenthood anymore for abortions, abortion doesn't go away. Unwanted pregnancies don't go away. What goes away is access to safe, legal abortion. And, as we know from countries that don't allow abortion, women still resort to abortion, but they just do so in a more desperate way. I mean, is that what you want for American women?
REP. BLACK: Alisyn, look, abortions are legal, and there are abortion providers around. We're talking about Planned Parenthood and their possible -- and what I feel looking at those films as a nurse for more than 40 years -- activities that are very close to the line of being illegal. And we cannot allow that to happen here in this country. Look, it is our responsibility as congressional members to investigate and look into what happens, especially when taxpayer dollars-
CAMEROTA: Sure, of course, absolutely. That's you prerogative, and people do want an investigation, but you're trying to defund them before the investigation is complete.One more element to tell you about. Many of the private health clinics that you and other Republicans say, "Why don't women just go to these private health clinics?" In fact, they don't take Medicare, many of them. And poor women would not be able to get services, certainly abortion services. Half of the Planned Parenthood patients -- this was interesting -- are on Medicaid.
REP. BLACK: Alisyn, I'm going to have to interrupt you there because that is not so. For every one Planned Parenthood clinic, there are community health care centers that do take Medicaid, that are required to take Medicaid if they receive federal dollars. And for every one Planned Parenthood clinic, there are 20 federally qualified health care clinics around this country. So that's not true.
CAMEROTA: There's another detail about those clinics. You're talking about the public clinics.
REP. BLACK: That's right. I'm talking about community health care centers.
CAMEROTA: That's fine. I was talking about the private clinics that sometimes lawmakers say that women should go to.
