APPLETON, WI, - Following the release of an undercover video revealing Appleton Planned Parenthood employees giving information called "absurd and scientifically erroneous" by two medical doctors, the organization has released a statement claiming that "Planned Parenthood's standard is to provide honest, medically accurate information" and calling Live Action's claims "false and inflammatory."
On December 9th, Live Action Films released a video showing a Planned Parenthood counselor claiming that fetal heartbeats begin at 17-18 weeks, over twelve weeks later than heartbeats in fact begin. Wisconsin informed consent law requires that women receive medically accurate information before undergoing an abortion.
The counselor's claim and others like it led Dr. Dianne Irving of Georgetown University and Dr. Ward Kischer of University of Arizona to conclude that Appleton Planned Parenthood counseling practices "would violate the legally valid 'informed consent' on both the 'information' level and on the 'consent without duress or pressure' level." They called for the parties involved to "be held accountable for their inherently unethical and destructive lies and procedures."
In a response to the video, Teri Huyck, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said that Live Action "has made false and inflammatory claims about our services" and that "we cannot verify the accuracy of these edited tapes." She said that all Wisconsin Planned Parenthood "patients receive the legally mandated information about fetal development as well as medically accurate answers to questions."
She also stated that the organization has "reviewed and reinforced organizational protocol regarding answers to pregnancy-related questions with staff members at this facility."
David Schmidt of Live Action argued that such a response "makes no sense."
"Either Planned Parenthood gave women false counsel and needs to be investigated, or they didn't and they don't need a review of protocol," he continued. "They can't have it both ways. There is a growing gap between what Planned Parenthood says and the truth, and their credibility is quickly slipping away."
The undercover video also shows Planned Parenthood employees variously claiming that a fetus becomes a baby only at birth or at six to seven months of pregnancy.
"Two people both confidently answer the same question with different answers and we are supposed to believe that they are both right?" Schmidt asked. "If this is 'accuracy' from Planned Parenthood, I can't imagine what inaccuracy is like."
The film is the first from Live Action's newly launched "Rose Acuna" project. Previous Live Action films have revealed Planned Parenthood accepting donations to abort black babies, covering up apparent statutory rape, and claiming that images of aborted babies found online were "not real"; the Rose Acuna project aims to uncover Planned Parenthood abortion counseling practices.
Judie Brown of the American Life League complimented Live Action for their latest video. "Planned Parenthood has spent years crafting a shiny public relations veneer to cover up the abuse of women and babies," she said. "Piece by piece, that veneer is being shattered with the help of a small student group in California dedicated to exposing the truth."
Peggy Hamill, of Pro-Life Wisconsin, similarly told WBAY news that "Pro-life Wisconsin has known for years, and this video proves, that Planned Parenthood cares to ignore the basic facts about human development and worse yet, refuses to relay the truth about that development to vulnerable patients in their clinics."
"Live Action is very credible. The videos that they have done are very effective, and they're very well documented. They reveal that Planned Parenthood is completely unscrupulous."
Contact: James Tillman
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: December 14, 2009
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