Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says many of the people protesting his actions to rein in Planned Parenthood haven’t actually seen the undercover videos that kicked off a firestorm of GOP fury against the organization.
To help them out, he decided to set up a movie screen outside the governor’s mansion so protesters can watch the videos on a loop during a planned demonstration Thursday afternoon.
“We hope the protesters will take a minute to watch them so they’ll have an opportunity to see first-hand our concerns with Planned Parenthood’s practices,” said Mr. Jindal, a 2016 GOP presidential candidate who moved to cut off Medicaid funding from the organization, despite warnings that could violate federal law.
Planned Parenthood Gulf States called the movie-screen move a “stunt” that puts politics before Louisianans’ health, according to local media.
The controversial videos released by the Center for Medical Progress depict negotiations between its own activists, posing as fetal tissue buyers, and Planned Parenthood employees, who seem to negotiate prices and abortion tactics that can be used to preserve as much fetal tissue as possible.
Planned Parenthood says the videos are highly edited and misleading and that it hasn’t broken any laws, which do allow fetal tissue sales though not for profit.
Congressional Republicans say the clips are repugnant. They’ve moved to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding, while Democrats have stood by the organization, saying it provides vital health services to women.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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