Hillary Clinton on Tuesday called the undercover videos of a Planned Parenthood official discussing aborted fetal tissue “disturbing,” though she defended the women’s health organization in an interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader.
“I have seen pictures from them and obviously find them disturbing,” the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination said in an interview with the newspaper.
“Planned Parenthood is answering questions and will continue to answer questions. I think there are two points to make,” Clinton said. “One, Planned Parenthood for more than a century has done a lot of really good work for women: cancer screenings, family planning, all kinds of health services. And this raises not questions about Planned Parenthood so much as it raises questions about the whole process, that is, not just involving Planned Parenthood, but many institutions in our country.”
The Center for Medical Progress released videos this month showing a Planned Parenthood official discussing fetal tissue extraction and reimbursements for clinic costs. Republicans have alleged Planned Parenthood is illegally selling fetal parts and have called for a public defunding of the health service. Planned Parenthood says it received reimbursement legally and only to cover minor expenses.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is among the Republican presidential candidates seeking to make this a 2016 issue as well. “I call upon mainstream reporters to ask Hillary Clinton if she supports Planned Parenthood’s sale of body parts in direct violation of federal criminal law,” he said, according to Politico.
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