Hartzler: Planned Parenthood turned a blind eye on young women

Rep. Vicky Hartzler's criticism of Planned Parenthood continued with a speech on the House floor, according to a news release:

As debate over legislation to fund the federal government for the remainder of the year moved into the late night hours on Thursday, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-4) addressed the U.S. House, entreating her colleagues to support an amendment ending taxpayer funding of abortions at Planned Parenthood - America’s top abortion provider.

"Planned Parenthood isn't about health, it's about profit," Hartzler told the chamber. "They have a record of preferring abortion over the truth. I have seen firsthand their view of truth.”

Hartzler then went on to share that when she was teaching child development as a school teacher, one of her students came to her with the revelation that she was pregnant and had just visited Planned Parenthood to discuss options. When the girl asked the Planned Parenthood counselor what ‘it’ looked like, she was told ‘it’ was ‘just a blob of tissue’ and ‘not to worry.’ The student asked Hartzler for pictures of what ‘it’ looked like. After seeing pictures of the fingers, eyes, and beating heart of a four-week old fetus, the girl exclaimed, ‘That’s not a blob of tissue; it’s a baby!’ She then asked Hartzler a piercing question about Planned Parenthood’s tactics, ‘Why did they tell me that?’ It’s a question that resonates today.

"They didn't care about the truth," Hartzler continued. "They didn't care about the young woman before them. They cared about a profit. This pattern continues with recent revelations that they were willing to cover up child sexual trafficking and child sexual abuse and aid and abet prostitution. Where was Planned Parenthood when they had a chance to protect young women? They turned a blind eye."

Hartzler completed her comments, questioning the logic behind the 363 million taxpayer dollars being given annually to this organization.

"Hard-working men and women in this country should not have to write a check on April 15th to fund these abominable practices," concluded Hartzler. "At a time when we are borrowing 40 cents out of every dollar we spend and running a huge deficit we need to look for savings to the taxpayer wherever we can. Certainly, saving $363 million form this abortion provider is a smart and is a right thing to do."

The amendment passed overwhelmingly.