“[I]t is still a critically important part of what we do,” she said. “So I think when we say, ‘It’s a small part of what we do,’ what we’re doing is actually stigmatizing it. Like it’s really not a big deal that Planned Parenthood does this. We are a proud abortion provider. We believe that abortion is health care, and we believe, fundamentally, that self-determination begins with being able to control your own body and freedom begins with being able to control your own body. So I don’t like to marginalize it in that way.”
In the past, Planned Parenthood has tried to downplay the number of abortions it does with misleading communication and math. It would say that because Planned Parenthood also provided services such as pregnancy tests and STD testing, it wasn't just an abortion business. In reality, many of these services are simply provided to women as part of a process they go through before they have an abortion.
This shift toward showing pride in killing hundreds of thousands of unborn children each year, rather than trying to cover it up, is quite significant. While pro-abortion activists may have once said that abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare," Planned Parenthood is no longer supporting that mantra.
