{"id":183753,"date":"2018-06-07T12:45:45","date_gmt":"2018-06-07T16:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=183753"},"modified":"2018-06-07T17:04:44","modified_gmt":"2018-06-07T21:04:44","slug":"chris-smith-planned-parenthood-traffickers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/chris-smith-planned-parenthood-traffickers\/","title":{"rendered":"Rep. Chris Smith: Planned Parenthood’s aid to sex traffickers is ‘appalling’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Today,\u00a0Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.),\u00a0co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, joined several of his Congressional colleagues as well as Live Action president Lila Rose and others, in a press conference<\/a> asking the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate Planned Parenthood and all Title X ‘family planning’ federal funding recipients for systemic failure to report suspicion of sexual abuse and trafficking of women and girls who visit their facilities.<\/p>\n

Rep. Smith has long been an outspoken supporter of life. He, along with other pro-life stalwarts like Rep. Vicky Hartzler and Rep. Diane Black, recently announced support<\/a> for the Trump administration’s “Protect Life Rule,” a change in the HHS Title X rule that requires abortion businesses to separate their birth control and healthcare services from their abortion-related services in order to continue to receive Title X federal funding. Rep. Smith was a featured speaker at the 2018 March for Life, and he voted in favor<\/a> of The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a bill which would have banned abortions after 20 weeks gestation.<\/p>\n

Today, Smith called Live Action’s investigative report and video series<\/a>, “Aiding Abusers,” an “enormous public service, especially for young girls and young women,” exposing Planned Parenthood’s “gross negligence by returning… children to their abusers.”<\/p>\n

“As the prime author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000,” he said, “I find Planned Parenthood’s complicity in sex trafficking absolutely appalling.”<\/p>\n

Smith added, “The sting operation by Live Action exposed seven Planned Parenthood facilities, including in my home state of New Jersey… where the personnel… were willing to facilitate” abortions, despite knowing the women were being trafficked. “Absolutely appalling. I encourage every member of the press to watch those videos,” he said.<\/p>\n