Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina on Sunday stood by her recent criticism of Planned Parenthood and said the Republican Party must stick to its guns and ensure the organization is cut off from all federal funding.
During an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Ms. Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard who has seen a significant bounce in the polls following her strong debate performance last week, said it’s time for the GOP to make clear what it stands for, even it that means risking a government shutdown in order to eliminate all taxpayer money that could be used for abortions.
“Something very important has changed since the last government shutdown. What has changed is the Republican Party has historic majorities in the House and now controls the majority in the Senate,” she said. “People want to know what do we stand for? What does our party stand for? What do I stand for?”
The fiscal year ends Sept. 30, and unless Republicans and Democrats reach a budget deal before than, the federal government may shut down for the second time in two years.
Some Republicans in Congress insist all federal funding for Planned Parenthood must be scrapped as part of a broader budget deal — a notion that Democrats, along with the White House, have rejected.
Meanwhile, Ms. Fiorina also defended her characterization of recently released Planned Parenthood undercover videos. During Wednesday’s debate, she spoke in chilling terms about a video that showed a kicking fetus while Planned Parenthood employees talked about harvesting its organs.
Fact checkers have said the videos in question do not include such a scene, but Ms. Fiorina on Sunday wouldn’t back away from her comments.
“I’ve seen the footage and I find it amazing that all these fact checkers in the mainstream media claim this doesn’t exist. Anyone who wants to challenge me first is going to have to prove to me that they’ve watched it,” she said.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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