Congress Didn’t Invite Planned Parenthood To ‘Defund Planned Parenthood’ Hearing

Launching their effort to defund Planned Parenthood, Republicans held the first of several congressional hearings on Wednesday. According to The Guardian, representatives from the organization of the hour were not invited to attend. The hearing was dubbed “Planned Parenthood Exposed: Examining the Horrific Abortion Practices at the Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider.” This time around, controversial videos are at the center of the debate. A refresher: The debacle began when an anti-abortion group released videos that supposedly revealed that Planned Parenthood sells fetal tissue. However, the videos were later proven to be doctored. As R29 previously reported, Eric Ferrero, VP of communications at Planned Parenthood, made a statement concerning the hearings: "While all of these congressional investigations are based on false claims and videos that have been completely discredited, we continue to be fully transparent and cooperate with all of the committees." While Planned Parenthood representatives were notably absent, the House Judiciary Committee did hear from several anti-abortion activists. With more hearings to come, only time will tell how effective they will be in the Republicans' crusade against the organization.