{"id":182068,"date":"2018-04-29T08:05:12","date_gmt":"2018-04-29T12:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=182068"},"modified":"2018-04-28T01:33:26","modified_gmt":"2018-04-28T05:33:26","slug":"planned-parenthood-ceo-life-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/planned-parenthood-ceo-life-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"Planned Parenthood CEO denies science, says ‘no specific moment life begins’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Despite the debate being settled by science, the question of when life begins is an oft-cited point in the abortion debate. Science is already clear<\/a> that life begins at conception. Cecile Richards, the outgoing CEO and president of Planned Parenthood, however, hasn’t gotten the memo.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with Playboy, quoted here by Katie Yoder for Newsbusters<\/a>, Richards was asked what her position was on when life begins. Richards says that for her, it was, “when my babies were born.” When asked if there’s “any point during pregnancy when an abortion would be terminating a life,” her response is even more subjective:<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s a question medical folks have dealt with, and I\u2019m not a doctor,” she said. “I\u2019ve spent a lot of time with ob-gyns, and they will tell you there is no specific moment when life begins.”<\/p>\n

“It depends on the pregnancy, and that\u2019s frankly why doctors and their patients should be in charge of these decisions and not government,” she added. “For Planned Parenthood, it depends on the state and what kind of abortion services we provide. We go to whatever the legal limit is, but it isn\u2019t the same state by state.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If the Ob\/Gyns Richards has spent her time with are the ones who work for Planned Parenthood, then it’s no surprise that life, to an abortionist, is suddenly a grey area where dollar signs are involved. If life doesn’t begin at conception, then when does it begin? Where do we draw the line<\/a>? For Planned Parenthood, there’s no line to be drawn on abortion, as the organization (which commits more abortions than any other entity in the country) opposes virtually all<\/a> regulations or restrictions on abortions.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, science already gives us an objective answer<\/a> about when life begins. To say that “[i]t depends on the pregnancy” not only rejects science, but conveys the message that some lives are less important or less equal than others.<\/p>\n