{"id":274269,"date":"2022-08-16T14:49:13","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T19:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=274269"},"modified":"2022-08-18T23:39:35","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T04:39:35","slug":"politicians-blind-abortion-abuses-target-pregnancy-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/politicians-blind-abortion-abuses-target-pregnancy-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Politicians turn blind eye to years of abortion industry abuses, target pregnancy centers instead"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The efforts of pro-abortion local and state politicians to investigate pro-life pregnancy resource centers (PRC) and paint them as dishonest and dangerous to women have ramped up since the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization<\/em>\u00a0in May, which officially overturned\u00a0Roe v. Wade\u00a0<\/em>on June 24.<\/p>\n

Pro-abortion politicians are fervently attempting to discredit non-profit pregnancy centers (which are almost entirely donor-funded<\/a>), dictate how they advertise their services, investigate their practices, and even force them to refer women to abortion businesses. Meanwhile, the abortion industry has faced scandal after scandal and is praised, defended, and propped up by political allies… and with taxpayer dollars.<\/p>\n

Attacks against pregnancy resource centers<\/strong><\/p>\n

PRCs exist to serve women and their families. Some women visit PRCs because they know they don’t want an abortion. Others visit because they aren’t sure if they want to have an abortion, raise their child, or place the child with an adoptive family. Some search for abortion online, find a pregnancy center, and make an appointment for a free pregnancy test or ultrasound. Others turn to a PRC after they have gone through an abortion and are dealing with emotional trauma as a result.<\/p>\n

Abortion advocates \u2014 the vast majority of whom have likely never been inside a PRC \u2014\u00a0are claiming PRCs only offer “limited services.” But these centers offer specific<\/em> services \u2014 just like any other business or non-profit organization. Just because PRCs do not commit or refer for abortion does not mean their services are somehow “limited.” In fact, they offer free services that include pregnancy tests, STD testing, ultrasounds, education classes, baby gear, clothing, and even help with housing, health care resources, and child care resources. Read more on that here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Hartford, Connecticut,\u00a0passed<\/a> an ordinance\u00a0requiring pro-life pregnancy centers to post signage stating, \u201cThis facility does not have a licensed medical provider on site to provide or supervise all services\u201d \u2014 and they did so despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court had just ruled California’s similar law to be a violation of the First Amendment.<\/p>\n

Clearway Clinic’s Kelly Wilcox told Live Action News that ordinances like these are compelled speech that the government is prohibited from imposing because they violate constitutional rights and religious freedom.<\/p>\n

Now that Roe<\/em> is gone, pro-abortion efforts to take life-affirming choices from women are increasing. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) continues<\/a> to push for investigations into PRCs; cities like Columbus, Ohio, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, are looking to pass ordinances to investigate PRCs and attempt to dictate how they advertise. Meanwhile, abortion businesses are getting away with horrific practices<\/a> (unsanitary facilities, drugged patients, allegedly selling fetal body parts after illegally altering abortion procedures, and possibly committing illegal abortion procedures and infanticide).<\/p>\n

Trafficking fetal body parts<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2015, undercover journalist David Daledien exposed a major scandal in the abortion industry. Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation (NAF) were caught in multiple videos discussing fetal body part sales after allegedly illegally altering abortion procedures so as to not ‘crush<\/a>‘\u00a0the organs they wanted to sell. Dr. Mary Gatter, president of Planned Parenthood\u2019s Medical Director\u2019s Council and medical director of Planned Parenthood of Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley in California, even haggled over the price of body parts, laughing that she wanted to make enough money<\/a> to buy a Lamborghini.<\/p>\n

Despite the hours of undercover video showing the alleged illegal activity of the abortion corporation, pro-abortion politicians took no steps to investigate the allegations, and even publicly supported Planned Parenthood. Representative Nancy Pelosi, Senator Barbara Boxer, then-Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, and others admitted that they hadn’t even watched<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0the videos<\/a>\u00a0that purported to show Planned Parenthood\u00a0breaking state and<\/a>\u00a0federal laws<\/a> \u2014 but they still claimed (without proof) that the videos they had not viewed<\/em> were “heavily” and “deceptively” edited.<\/p>\n

Instead, Daleiden was investigated. Then-Attorney General of California Kamala Harris (now the U.S. Vice President) ordered a raid on his apartment and gave unreleased videos found there to the National Abortion Federation. Daleiden would later sue<\/a> Harris in 2020 along with the next Attorney General, Xavier Becerra (now U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Biden) for conspiracy to violate his civil rights.<\/p>\n

Becerra\u00a0refused<\/a> to investigate Planned Parenthood, and the corporation publicly supported his political campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid Daleiden became the first journalist ever to be criminally prosecuted under California\u2019s recording law, not because of the method of video recording he utilized in his investigation \u2014 which is common in investigative journalism in this state \u2014 but because his investigation revealed and he published \u2018shock[ing]\u2019 content that California\u2019s Attorney General and the private party co-conspirators wanted to cover up,\u201d the lawsuit reads. \u201cDefendants seek their \u2018pound of flesh\u2019 from Mr. Daleiden and to chill other journalists from investigating and reporting on that same content.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2019, Planned Parenthood officials admitted<\/a> during sworn deposition testimony that the statements Planned Parenthood had made in Daleiden’s undercover investigations were accurate and had been “spoken by those persons” who had been named by Daleiden.<\/p>\n

Several years later, Daleiden is still fighting<\/a> to get the rights to his own recordings restored, while Becerra and Harris are still propping up the abortion industry. In March, Becerra visited<\/a> Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and awarded it a $500,000 grant after the state voted to remove public funding from abortionists. Becerra was sure to let Planned Parenthood know that it has the full support of the Biden administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got your back,\u201d Becerra said,\u00a0according to WMUR<\/a>. \u201cAnd there have been some challenging times. I don\u2019t think they\u2019re over, but you hung in there, and we hope to make a commitment to you that we\u2019re not going to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drugging patients<\/strong><\/p>\n

Live Action’s most recent undercover investigation revealed that the Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, D.C., is\u00a0requiring<\/a> women to take Xanax prior<\/em><\/strong> to speaking with abortionist Cesare Santangelo and giving final consent for the abortion.\u00a0This drug can cause cognitive impairment.<\/p>\n

In the video, the nurse tells the undercover woman, who was 28 weeks pregnant (emphasis added),\u00a0\u201c[W]e have to make sure that \u2014 that\u2019s in your system before you talk to the doctor. He\u2019s not going to be able to speak with you until he is ready to do [the abortion]. And you\u2019re actually pants off in the room<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n