Tapper Allows Republican Congresswoman To Claim Vast Majority Of Planned Parenthood Services Are Abortions
CNN's Jake Tapper Facilitates False Claim About Planned Parenthood's Abortion Services. On the August 30 edition of CNN's State of the Union, host Jake Tapper allowed Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to make a false claim regarding Planned Parenthood's health services. Blackburn incorrectly claimed that “94 percent of their business is abortion services,” and Tapper failed to correct her and ended the discussion by telling Donna Brazile and Blackburn that they must “agree to disagree.” From State of the Union:
BLACKBURN: Ninety-four percent of their business, 94 percent-- 94 percent is abortion services, their own numbers -- 327,600 were abortion services.
BRAZILE: Ninety-seven percent is for non-abortion services. We'll do the fact check, congresswoman. We'll do the fact check--
BLACKBURN: Absolutely, let's do the fact check. Go to their website. Their main business-- they are America's biggest abortion provider. Biggest abortion provider. Eighteen hundred adoption services and 300 [INAUDIBLE]
BRAZILE: Have you visited the Planned Parenthood site? I have. And I visited poor neighborhoods. I visited where women cannot have access to life [INAUDIBLE] services.
JAKE TAPPER: Let's put a button on that, agree to disagree, and we'll come back. [CNN, State of the Union, 8/30/15]
In Fact, Only Three Percent Of Planned Parenthood Services Are Related To Abortion
Planned Parenthood Data: “Abortion Services” Make Up Only Three Percent Of Medical Services. In Planned Parenthood's 2013-2014 Annual Report, “Abortion Services” are listed as comprising 3 percent of all Planned Parenthood medical services, which include STD/STI testing and treatment, contraceptive services, cancer screenings and prevention, and other related women's health services:
[Planned Parenthood, 2013-2014 Annual Report, 12/16/14]