Rep. Jason Chaffetz is a lot like Batman — at least in his own mind. According to the House Oversight Committee Chairman, the evil “baby parts”- selling criminal cabal known as Planned Parenthood killed his parents. On Tuesday, Chaffetz argued that the $500 million the organization receives each year from the federal government took away from cancer research, leading to the deaths of both his parents — deaths he, like Bruce Wayne, has vowed to avenge.
While he offered no evidence of his claims, we imagine it looked something like this:
via Totally Pop Culture, modified
Working up some crocodile tears, Chaffetz argued that “we don’t spend enough on cancer,” which is true, but ignored the fact that cancer screenings — including breast cancer, which took the life of the congressman’s mother — are a large percentage of the services provided by Planned Parenthood.
But the question before us is does this organization, does Planned Parenthood really need federal subsidy? Does it need federal dollars?” Chaffetz asked. “Every time we spend a federal dollar, what we’re doing is we’re pulling money out of somebody’s pocket and we’re giving it to somebody else.
As part of his crusade to avenge his parents’ murders and destroy Planned Parenthood, which conservatives falsely claim chops up babies and parts them out for for-profit organ sales, Chaffetz presented a monumentally stupid slide to illustrate his point. The slide shows two arrows — one illustrating a decline in cancer screenings and preventative services, and the other a slight increase in abortions since 2006. No source was provided on the slide Chaffetz displayed, but the source was a rabid anti-abortion group:
The chart is so stupid, so full of misinformation, that Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards didn’t mince words when confronted about it. “You created this slide. I have no idea what it is,” Richards said.
“Well, it is the reduction over the course of years — in pink, that’s the reduction in the breast exams — and the red is the increase in the abortions,” Chaffetz said. “That’s what’s going on in the organization.”
Richards informed the congressman that the slide “absolutely does not reflect what’s happening at Planned Parenthood.”
“I’m going to deny this slide that you just showed me that no one has ever provided us before,” she said. “We’ve provided you all the information about everything — all the services that Planned Parenthood provides. And it doesn’t feel like we’re trying to get to the truth here. You just showed me this.”
But Chaffetz was undeterred in his mission to smear Planned Parenthood. “I pulled those numbers directly out of your corporate reports,” he informed Planned Parenthood’s president.
“Excuse me,” Richards interjected. “My lawyers have informed me that the source of this is Americans United for Life which is an anti-abortion group so I would check your source.”
Taken aback by the revelation that Richards had identified the source of the conservative witch hunter’s “information,” Chaffetz was forced to pretend he cares about the truth: “Then we will get to the bottom of the truth of that.”
Media publisher Vox provided a helpful example of what the chart should have looked like:
via Vox
But the lines were not the only thing that were deceptive, notes Vox’s Timothy B. Lee:
The chart is misleading in another way, too. It’s true that Planned Parenthood performed 290,000 abortions and 2 million cancer-related services in 2006. But the organization also provided more than 3 million treatments for sexually transmitted diseases and nearly 4 million contraceptive services that year. By 2013, the number of STD treatments had gone up to 4.5 million, while the number of contraceptive services declined modestly to 3.6 million
Lee provided another helpful chart we surely will not see Chaffetz display:
via Vox
So it’s not true, as the chart implies, that Planned Parenthood has been performing more abortions while drastically cutting back the provision of other services,” Lee notes. “The overall number of non-abortion services provided by Planned Parenthood barely changed at all, going from 10.29 million in 2006 to 10.26 million in 2013.
As Chaffetz continues to pretend that he’s some sort of anti-choice Caped Crusader, the rest of us wonder when the GOP will finally drop the nonsense surrounding Planned Parenthood, which is quickly becoming the new Benghazi, and work on solving some of our nation’s actual problems.
Watch Chaffetz get smacked down, below:
Featured image: Americans United for Life
I am really curious- has any other entity been threatened with loss of funding based on falsified and inflammatory data? The videos were only recently released, and do not have any legal or official status- yet they are the basis for these attacks. They admittedly were very effective at grabbing attention, We are all squeamish about surgical procedures and the graphic detail portrayed a gruesome image. But any organ harvesting would be repulsive if described in such detail- the heart beating, keeping the person alive long enough to collect kidneys, liver, heart, corneas etc.- in order to save the life or function of another human being. I just am not aware of a similar situation where congressional hearings, loss of funding, and bitter attacks resulted from such flimsy evidence- as proven by the list of investigations that have each cleared Planned Parenthood of all (false) charges:
1) HHS
2) Pennsylvania
3) South Dakota
4) Massachusetts
5) Georgia
6) Indiana
7) Florida
8) Missouri
ACORN
another benevolent association that GOPigs smeared enough to shut down…if videos of corporate welfare were shown, would the subsidies to these greedy bastards end? I’m sure oil spills, toxic dumps, etc would outrage the average taxpayer.
Acorn changed its name. I forget what thy are called now. Still registering poor people to vote, enraging the right wing.
They need to go to Alabama with the rethugs shutting down 30 or so DMV offices so Black Folk can’t get IDs. How freaking wrong is that? And the Supreme Court said Racism is dead in America which allowed them to get away with this despicable act of treachery and treason in the first place.
Didn’t that smear campaign involve some of the same people too?
Geez, I forgot all about ACORN. But not the creep who shut them down.
It’s not really about Planned Parenthood…just as it wasn’t really about Benghazi or Hillary’s e-mails. It’s all about keeping the smear campaigns and the “investigations” going on right up to the 2016 elections, if possible. These are boogey-men tactics, that’s all they are. It’s costing the taxpayers a whole lot of money. It’s almost as if they’re waging a political campaign….and they’re using our money to do it. Why aren’t they working on something…ANYTHING…that will actually improve our country’s situation? Why aren’t they doing their job? It’s been almost 7 years…and they’ve done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
The “Republicans” assigned to the “House Oversight Committee”.Are the essence of “Negligence” and “Incompetence”!!!!!!!!!
It’s so annoying to hear then say the federal government “gives” PP $50 million a year. They REIMBURSE PP for services rendered in the form of Medicaid payments. And none of those reimbursements are for performing abortions since the Hyde amendment.
Their reimbursements are no different than any other doctor’s office either.
Fetal tissue from an abortion eventually winds up incinerated. Republicans are upset that in a few instances the fetal tissue is used for medical and scientific research before it goes to the incinerator. Republicans cannot take away a woman’s constitutional right ( although they want to do that) but they are almost hysterical that they want fetal tissue incinerated BEFORE any medical advances can be realized from it. If they can end fetal tissue research, this is all they would accomplish, not prevent any pregnancy and not prevent any abortion.
These morons conducting this hearing…….they look so stupid!!!! Unfortunately, their constituents are just eating it up…….listening to one-phrase misinformation and gobbling it down.