Texas Awarded The Second Largest Contract In State’s Restructured Women’s Health Program To Anti-Choice Activist Carol Everett

Texas Lawmakers Allocated Contract For Reproductive Health To Anti-Abortion Activist Carol Everett. On August 10, anti-choice state officials awarded the second largest contract in the state’s reproductive health care program -- totaling $1.6 million -- to anti-abortion activist Carol Everett and her organization, The Heidi Group. Everett formerly worked as an abortion clinic administrator, and she now runs a network of crisis pregnancy centers that is notorious for misleading women about abortion and reproductive health. The state’s funding is meant to provide “well-woman exams, cancer screenings and contraception to low-income Texans,” however, as NARAL Pro-Choice Texas executive director Heather Busby explained to the Texas Observer, neither Everett nor her organization has “experience providing family planning and preventative care services ... How are we supposed to feel confident that a group with no medical experience will quickly and effectively meet the healthcare needs of Texans?” [Texas Observer, 8/10/16]

But Everett Has A Long History Of Spreading Misinformation About Abortion, Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood, And Sex Education

1. Everett Has Made Unproven Claims About Abortion Safety, Procedures, And Clinics

A) Everett Claimed Providers Perform Abortions On Women Who Are Not Pregnant

Everett Claimed Abortions Are “Unnatural,” “Painful,” And Frequently Performed On “Women Who Were Not Pregnant.” During a 2010 episode of Catholic TV’s Facing Life Head On, Everett discussed her past work as an abortion clinic administrator before she became an anti-choice activist. She alleged that abortion is “unnatural” because it is an “interruption of the natural process,” which “is a terribly painful procedure.” She continued that abortions are even more harmful when performed “on a woman who is really not pregnant,” which she alleged is “still being done [today] on women who can be convinced they’re pregnant even though they aren’t.” From Facing Life Head On (emphasis added):

CAROL EVERETT: They all ask two questions. One: Is it a baby? We allowed any, our counselors, who were just salespeople, to say anything they wished. It could be a blood clot, it could be a product of conception, it could be a group of cells. We didn’t care what they called it as long as they said it wasn’t a baby. And then they said: “Does it hurt?” And we said, “No, it doesn’t hurt.” And we knew we were lying. And this is how we used a visual aid to prove to them that it didn’t hurt. We would say to this scared young woman: Your uterus is a muscle, it’s a cramp to open and a cramp to close it. We would open and close our hand and when we saw that she was opening and closing her to see if that hurt we knew we had her. We convinced her it didn’t hurt because she didn’t hurt to open and close her hand. Abortion is a terribly painful procedure -- it’s an unnatural interruption of the natural process. And it does hurt. And it hurts more on a woman who is really not pregnant. And abortions are still being done on women who can be convinced they’re pregnant even though they aren’t. [Facing Life Head On, Catholic TV, 12/15/10]

Everett Claimed Clinics She Managed “Were Caught Attempting To Do Abortions On Women Who Were Not Pregnant.” Everett appeared on an August 2015 edition of Lost Arts Radio to speak with host Richard Sacks about her history working in abortion clinics. During the interview, Everett alleged that the clinics she managed “were caught attempting to do abortions on women who were not pregnant” during a local media investigation. She contended that the CBS station’s footage “caught” Everett and her staff “red-handed” and showed “step-by-step how we sold abortions to women who were not pregnant.” From Lost Arts Radio (emphasis added):

CAROL EVERETT: At the end of that day I wasn’t saying, “That’s great I saved three babies.” At the end of that day I was saying “I lost -- I lost -- $75.” Money, money, money. And I fell to my knees on the floor of that abortion clinic and prayed a heart prayer. “Lord -- if there is a Lord -- if this isn’t where you want me, hit me over the head by a two-by-four.” And the two-by-four was that our abortion clinics were caught attempting to do abortions on women who were not pregnant.

A CBS affiliate in Dallas did an exposé on abortion clinics doing abortions on women who were not pregnant by sending three reporters to the doctor to assert they weren’t pregnant, wiring them for sound, and then sending them to our abortion clinics and see if we would attempt to abort them, even though they clearly were not pregnant. We’d been tipped off, we knew they were coming, we could not control nine abortionists, working on a straight commission too -- and they caught us red-handed. And documented step-by-step how we sold abortions to women who were not pregnant. [Lost Arts Radio, 8/1/15]

Rewire: Everett’s Claims Have Been “Rebutted By Many Of Her Former Colleagues.” Rewire’s Robin Marty noted in 2012 that Everett’s claims about abortion providers have been strongly “rebutted by many of her former colleagues.” For example, Dr. William W. West Jr., who works in outpatient psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, said of Everett’s assertion that abortions are performed on women who are not pregnant, “Give me a break! I hope there are not many among us who are cynical and gullible enough to actually believe such garbage!” Rewire noted that although there were reported incidents in 1978 of women improperly receiving abortions, “those cases marked the very rare exceptions, not the actions of providers as a whole.” [Rewire, 10/2/12]

San Jose Mercury News: Everett Is “Not Popular” With “Reputable Providers Of Abortions” In Texas. In a May 1989 article for the San Jose Mercury News, Joan Connell profiled Everett and wrote that Everett is “understandably not popular” among Texas abortion providers. According to Pat Lysell, the then-spokesperson for Planned Parenthood in Dallas, Everett’s allegations lacked credibility because she “did not operate a reputable clinic, and she tars all the abortion clinics in town by inferring that they follow the same tactics she did." One abortion provider quoted by Connell explained, “Many of the things [Everett] says about abortions in Texas and abortion in general are just not true.” From the San Jose Mercury News:

Everett has become a visible abortion foe -- in demand on the anti-abortion speakers' circuit and a frequent guest on television talk shows, including Pat Robertson's “700 Club.” But she is understandably not popular with medical-clinic personnel in Dallas who consider themselves reputable providers of abortions.

''Her credibility here is negligible," says Pat Lysell, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood in Dallas. “She herself did not operate a reputable clinic, and she tars all the abortion clinics in town by inferring that they follow the same tactics she did.”

''She had a bad experience with her own abortion and she probably never should have had one. Many of the things she says about abortions in Texas and abortion in general are just not true," says Danniece Smith, a nurse and spokeswoman for the Fairmount Center, a Dallas family planning clinic that performs abortions and vasectomies.

Though Everett is getting a lot of media attention, Smith believes that her efforts to stop abortion will not succeed.

''Abortion is legal here, it remains legal and it's a choice that 1.6 million women make in America every year," Smith says. “That's not going to change.” [San Jose Mercury News, 5/20/89; accessed via NewsBank]

B) Everett Claimed Abortion Clinics And Providers Must Be Regulated To Avoid Spreading Sexually Transmitted Diseases, HIV, And Ebola

Everett: “What If Those Germs” From Fetal Tissue “Got Into Our Water Supply” And “The Woman Had HIV” Or “A Sexually Transmitted Disease?” In early July, Texas’ Health and Human Services Commission proposed new rules that would require that all fetal remains from abortions or miscarriages be cremated or buried. Everett appeared on Fox 7 Austin on July 7 to advocate for the proposed new requirements. Although the state health commission did not claim the changes were needed for health or safety concerns, Everett argued these requirements were the most sanitary method of tissue disposal, asking, “What if those germs” from fetal tissue disposal “got into our water supply” and “the woman had HIV” or “had a sexually transmitted disease?” From Fox 7 Austin (emphasis added):

JENNIFER KENDALL (HOST): Heidi Group CEO Carol Everett not only had an abortion of her own, but 30 years ago she worked at four different abortion clinics.

CAROL EVERETT: There were two ways they disposed of the babies: The first and most common was to use a garbage disposal. And our facilities and the facilities I was familiar with in Texas --

KENDALL: The other way tissue is handled: by putting the remains in a landfill. Everett says she has always felt there was a better way to handle fetal tissue after an abortion.

EVERETT: Babies could be disposed of humanely by cremating them or burying them.

KENDALL: The Texas Health and Human Services Commission proposed just that. A rule that would require abortion clinics to cremate or bury fetal remains. But not everyone is happy with the proposal.

[...]

KENDALL: But Carol Everett says that the current protocols for disposing fetal remains not only affects women, but could impact all Texans.

EVERETT: There’s several health concerns. What if the woman had HIV? What if she had a sexually transmitted disease? What if those germs went through and got into our water supply? [Fox 7 Austin, via Media Matters, 7/7/16]

Everett: Clinics Need Regulation Because “With The Ebola Scare … What Would We Be Transferring” Through The Air? In 2013, anti-choice legislators in Texas passed HB 2 -- legislation that the Supreme Court rejected in 2016, ruling that it imposed medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers and clinics. Before ruling, the Supreme Court had issued an injunction in October 2014 temporarily suspending HB 2’s medically unnecessary provisions, which allowed multiple clinics that had closed to reopen. Everett appeared during a 2014 segment on Austin’s Fox 7 to assert the benefits of HB 2’s extreme restrictions. According to Everett, without ambulatory surgical center (ASC) requirements -- as required by HB 2 -- abortion clinics would not have air conditioning, hot water, or clean air. In particular, Everett asserted that “with the Ebola scare, … what [germs] would we be transferring [at clinics]?” From Fox 7 Austin (emphasis added):

ASHLEY PAREDEZ (HOST): Carol Everett used to work for an abortion clinic but later became pro-life. She’s surprised with the Supreme Court’s move because of what she has seen in the past.

CAROL EVERETT: She was a beautiful girl and now she, she was not so beautiful. We had marred her body.

PAREDEZ: Everett says that clinics that are able to reopen are providing a lower, secondary standard of health care -- warning women to be careful where they go.

EVERETT: If you need to get an ambulance in there, you need a hallway that’s large enough to get a gurney down -- a stretcher. And air conditioning. You’ve got to be certain they have hot water -- I mean, how do they sterilize instruments? They need all sorts of standards of care that any other surgical facility would have. The clean air facility [requirement] -- with the Ebola scare, my goodness, what would we be transferring? [Fox 7 Austin, 10/16/14]

AIDS.Gov: “HIV Does Not Survive Long Outside The Human Body” And Isn’t Spread Through “Air Or Water.” According to AIDS.gov -- a website run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in collaboration with numerous federal agencies -- HIV cannot be spread through “air or water” because the virus “does not survive long outside the human body … and it cannot produce outside a human host.” The site also noted that “HIV is not spread easily” and requires direct exposure to “certain body fluids from a person who has HIV.” [AIDS.gov, Accessed 8/30/16]

CDC: “Ebola Is Not Spread Through The Air, By Water, Or In General, By Food.” In July 2015, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) answered commonly asked questions about the possible transmission vectors of the Ebola virus. According to the CDC, “Ebola is not spread through the air, by water, or in general, by food.” In a January 2016 fact sheet, CDC officials further explained that it was unlikely “Ebola could mutate and become airborne.” They wrote that although the Ebola virus would likely mutate, “like all viruses do, it would be very unusual for it to change how it is transmitted” and would require “multiple mutations in the virus over a very long period of time.” [Centers for Disease Control, Q&As on Transmission, July 2015; “How Is Ebola Spread?” Fact Sheet, 1/12/16]

C) Everett Promoted The Myth That 20-Week Bans Are Necessary To Avoid So-Called Fetal Pain

Everett: Twenty-Week Bans Are Necessary Because “We Know The Baby Feels Pain At That Point.” After anti-choice Texas lawmakers pushed a vote on a 20-week abortion ban in 2013, Everett spoke to Fox 7 Austin about her belief in the medically unsubstantiated theory that a developing fetus can feel pain as early as 20 weeks. “We know the baby feels pain at that point,” said Everett, saying it’s unbelievable that anyone “would be against stopping abortions at five months into pregnancy.” There is little evidence to support Everett’s assertion or similar claims of fetal pain prior to 24 weeks of development. From Fox 7 Austin:

DANIEL ARMBRUSTER (HOST): Carol Everett with the Heidi Group, a pro-life organization, and Heather Busby, with NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, are both pushing for their respective beliefs on an issue that has divided the country for decades. Everett says Governor [Rick] Perry is on the right track by wanting to ban abortions after 20 weeks. In Texas the limit is currently 24 [weeks]. Busby says that’s an attack on Roe v. Wade.

HEATHER BUSBY: The 20-week ban has already been held as unconstitutional when it’s been challenged in courts in other states.

CAROL EVERETT: We know the baby feels pain at that point. And who in the world would be against stopping abortions at five months into the pregnancy? [Fox 7 Austin, 6/11/13]

Majority Of Credible Scientific Evidence Undermines Anti-Choice Groups’ Assertions About Fetal Pain Before 20 Weeks. The vast majority of credible scientific evidence undermines claims like Everett’s about the possibility of fetal pain before 20 weeks. In a March 2016 article, the Los Angeles Times editorial board noted that “reputable scientific research, backed by mainstream groups such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, indicates that a fetus doesn’t have the capability to feel pain until sometime in the third trimester, which starts at 24 weeks.” These findings were previously affirmed in a 2010 report from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which found that “research shows that the sensory structures are not developed or specialised enough to experience pain in a fetus less than 24 weeks.” As Columbia University Medical Center’s Dr. Anne Davis told Salon, anti-choice warnings about fetal pain and brain development are “created concerns” that are “based in politics,” not science. [Media Matters, 4/12/16]

2. Everett Has Spread Misinformation About Contraception

A) Everett Called Emergency Contraception A “Destructive Drug” And A “Social Experiment On Children”

Everett: Emergency Contraception Is “Destructive To A Woman’s Reproductive System” And Constitutes “A Social Experiment On Children.” On the May 8, 2013, edition of News at Nine on Fox 7 Austin, host Mike Warren moderated a debate between Everett and Democratic strategist Jason Stanford on the topic of allowing 15-year-olds to purchase emergency contraception, referred to by the brand name Plan B, without parental consent. Everett opposed the decision and argued that Plan B “is a social experiment on girls and women” and that it is “destructive to a woman’s reproductive system.” Despite Stanford’s accurate response that neither medical experts nor the FDA support that argument, Everett asserted that allowing young women to access emergency contraception would “sterilize” them and negatively “affect [their] future fertility.” From Fox 7 Austin:

MIKE WARREN (HOST): Carol, what do you think?

CAROL EVERETT: Plan B at 15 is a social experiment on children. Children do not deserve to do anything alone much less have any sort of birth control that is 40 times more -- I’m sorry -- 40 times stronger than a normal birth control pill. What are we doing to these girls’ fertility? What is going to happen to their bodies? We had one woman in our clinic who came in and had taken this pill, Plan B, 10 times in one month. That’s destructive to a woman’s reproductive system and now we’re going to allow 15-year-olds to do this? What are we doing, trying to sterilize our 15-year-olds?

WARREN: Jason, what do you think?

JASON STANFORD: Well, The New England Journal of Medicine was very clear on this. There was a study that came out and said that Plan B -- emergency contraception -- is more dangerous to politicians than it is to young women. The reason that nurses need a note from the parent before you can take Tylenol in school is because Tylenol can kill teenagers. Plan B emergency contraception is perfectly safe for women, that’s what the studies and the [Food and Drug Administration] have shown. Again, we don’t want people as young as 15 having sex, we want them waiting till marriage, we want them waiting till adulthood. Unfortunately, that is not happening. What we need to do is deal with the world as it exists and not insist that people behave the way we would want.

EVERETT: Women take birth control pills of their own volition and become ill. What does a birth control pill that 40 times stronger than any other do to a minor? When they have trouble their mother and father will not know that they’ve taken this pill, they’ll take them to the hospital, the parents are responsible, the parents have a right to be involved in their children’s reproductive rights if they’re having sex at 15. Parents need to be involved, certainly in taking this destructive drug.

STANFORD: Well, the side effects to this drug that the studies showed was nausea and a delay of menstruation. Those are not things you go to the hospital for. In fact, but I agree with you parents need to be involved in this. Parents should open lines of communication with their children, should educate their children in reproductive health and birth control. And we need to foster that kind of communication, I think we can all agree on that. But sometimes it doesn’t work -- this is why we call it emergency contraception. And when a 15-year-old is in a pickle and they can’t talk to their parents, they don’t have those lines of communication open, now this available to them so they’re not stuck having a baby that they don’t want. And that they’re certainly not ready to have.

WARREN: All right, Carol, I’ll give you the last word on this. Carol?

EVERETT: No teenager deserves being used in a social experiment. This birth control pill, Plan B, is a social experiment on girls and women. Women and girls need to be protected from this destructive pill. And I’ve taken those birth control pills -- not in that strength -- and I know they can make you ill. This will affect young women’s future fertility. We need to protect our children today. [Fox 7 Austin, 5/8/13]

Medical Experts Agree That Emergency Contraception -- Even When Used Frequently -- Is Safe And Effective. In a July 2016 white paper on emergency contraception, a group of medical experts and social scientists wrote, “No deaths or serious complications have been causally linked to emergency contraception.” They wrote that although there have been allegations about potential negative side effects from frequent use of emergency contraception, “experience with similar regimens and with high dose oral contraceptives suggests that the likelihood of serious harm from at least moderate repeat use is low.” In particular they noted that “repeated use of [emergency contraceptive pills] is safer than pregnancy, in particular when the pregnancy is unintended and women do not have access to safe early abortion services.” From the Princeton University Office of Population Control Research (citations removed and emphasis added):

Data are not available on the safety of current regimens of [emergency contraception pills (ECPs)] if used frequently over a long period of time. However, experience with similar regimens and with high dose oral contraceptives suggests that the likelihood of serious harm from at least moderate repeat use is low. Certainly, repeated use of ECPs is safer than pregnancy, in particular when the pregnancy is unintended and women do not have access to safe early abortion services. The label for ella [emergency contraception brand] states that “Repeated use of ella within the same menstrual cycle is not recommended, as safety and efficacy of repeat use within the same cycle has not been evaluated.” However, a pharmacodynamic study of repeated use of UPA EC (every 7 days for 8 weeks) showed no safety concerns, indicating that UPA can be safely used more than once per cycle. The same study found that the majority of women in a smaller subgroup ovulated at least once during this period, suggesting that this may not be an effective longer-term method. In addition, recent comprehensive review by CDC/WHO did not suggest any special safety concerns for the use of any type of ECPs among women with particular medical conditions or personal characteristics, such as pregnancy, lactation or frequent ECP use. [Princeton University, Office of Population Control Research, July 2016]

FDA: Emergency Contraception “Was Safe And Effective” When Used By Young Adults Even “Without The Intervention Of A Healthcare Provider.” Before approving Plan B for over-the-counter distribution in 2011, the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation Research (CDER) concluded that younger adults were able to understand and safely use emergency contraception. According to CDER, emergency contraception use “was safe and effective in adolescent females” and they could use it “properly without the intervention of a healthcare provider”:

The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) completed its review of the Plan B One-Step application and laid out its scientific determination. CDER carefully considered whether younger females were able to understand how to use Plan B One-Step. Based on the information submitted to the agency, CDER determined that the product was safe and effective in adolescent females, that adolescent females understood the product was not for routine use, and that the product would not protect them against sexually transmitted diseases. Additionally, the data supported a finding that adolescent females could use Plan B One-Step properly without the intervention of a healthcare provider. [FDA, 12/7/11]

B) Everett Alleged That Abortion Clinics Intentionally Provide Defective Contraception

Everett: Abortion Providers Are Giving Women A “Low-Dose Birth Control Pill That She Will Get Pregnant On” And “Passing Out Defective Condoms” In Order To “Market Their Abortion Product.” Everett has also accused abortion providers of intentionally providing patients with defective contraception. During an August 2015 interview with Lost Arts Radio’s Richard Sacks, Everett argued that abortion providers are intentionally giving women “low-dose birth control pill[s] that she will get pregnant on” as well as “passing out defective condoms” in order to “market their abortion product.” According to Everett, providers use this strategy because if a woman starts using “abortion as a method of birth control very early,” providers will be able to perform “three to five abortions” on her. From Lost Arts Radio (emphasis added):

CAROL EVERETT: OK. How do you think Planned Parenthood fuels their abortion business? There are two ways. First of all, they get that $540 million a day not for abortions, they get that for well-woman care. Well, what’s well-woman care for them? Well-woman care is getting a woman on a low-dose birth control pill that she will get pregnant on. Or passing out defective condoms. So that’s their first market -- their first line is well-woman, that 540 million fuels the entire abortion industry, not just Planned Parenthood, the entire industry.

RICHARD SACKS (HOST): My question about that, that you just brought up,about the low-dose birth control pills and the defective condoms. I think you’re talking to someone that couldn’t imagine this would ever happen. I think it’s worth taking it a bit slower and explaining exactly what you’re talking about.

EVERETT: Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry have a marketing plan to sell abortions. When we were in the abortion industry, our -- my -- goal was three to five abortions for every female between the ages of 13 and 18. Now, why do you do that so early? If she starts using birth control very early -- abortion as a method of birth control very early -- she will continue to use it as a method of birth control throughout her childbearing years. So there is two ways that Planned Parenthood reaches out to market their abortion product. And the first one is well-woman care. And they get the women in, and they do an annual physical on them, and they give her either a low-dose birth control pill that in order to work must be taken accurately and at the same time every single day or they pass out defective condoms. So they give out birth control that will not work. [Lost Arts Radio, 8/1/15]

On Infowars, Everett Claimed Abortion Providers Gave Out Defective Contraception So They Could “Sell [A Woman] An Abortion On The Telephone.” While speaking with Infowars’ Lee Ann McAdoo, Everett alleged that when she was working at abortion providers, they would hand out “defective condoms” and give women a “low-dose birth control pill that we absolutely knew she would get pregnant on.” Everett continued that after receiving contraception, a woman’s “sexual activity would increase … to six or seven times a week, and she would become pregnant” and then providers could “sell her an abortion on the telephone” when she called the clinic. From Nightly News with Alex Jones (emphasis added):

CAROL EVERETT: And then in the fifth and sixth grade I came in, and my goal was to get these kids sexually active. And so we passed out condoms at the back door -- defective condoms or seconds condoms. These people don’t buy the most expensive or the best condoms, they buy seconds or defective. We knew they wouldn’t work and then we got the girls into the clinic, we gave them a low-dose birth control pill that we absolutely knew she would get pregnant on. And you’re going to say, “How do you know that?” We gave those girls -- we prescribed a pill that in order to provide any level of protection had to be taken accurately and at the same time every day. Meaning there’s not a teenager in the world who does things at the same time every day. She wouldn’t take the pill properly, her sexual activity would increase from zero or once a week to six or seven times a week, she would become pregnant. And then she’d call us. And we were ready with people answering our telephones -- trained telemarketers -- to sell her an abortion on the telephone.

LEE ANN MCADOO (HOST): Wow.

EVERETT: I held the hand of one young woman while she had her ninth abortion. [Nightly News with Alex Jones, Infowars, 12/3/14]

The Guardian: New Study Found “A Precipitous Drop” In Teenage Pregnancies Due To “Improved Use Of Contraception.” The Guardian’s Nicole Puglise wrote on August 31 that “new analysis from the Guttmacher Institute” had found that a “precipitous drop” in U.S. teenage pregnancies could be attributed to the “improved use of contraception.” The study’s principal researcher, Laura Lindberg, noted that there was “no significant change in adolescent sexual activity” over the course of the study, which “suggest[s] that recent declines in teens’ risk of pregnancy -- and in their pregnancy rates -- are driven by increased contraceptive use.” From The Guardian:

A precipitous drop in the US teenage pregnancy rate to record lows was driven by improved use of contraception, a new analysis from the Guttmacher Institute found.

“There was no significant change in adolescent sexual activity during this time period,” Dr Laura Lindberg, a principal research scientist with the Guttmacher Institute and the paper’s lead author, said in a statement. “Rather, our new data suggest that recent declines in teens’ risk of pregnancy – and in their pregnancy rates – are driven by increased contraceptive use.”

[...]

The changes in contraceptive use resulted in a 28% decline in pregnancy risk index from 2007 to 2012. Not only did improvements in contraceptive use drive that entire decline, but they were also responsible for neutralizing a 6% rise in risk over the same period due to increased sexual activity among teens. The pregnancy risk index is a calculation that “summarizes the risk of pregnancy among all adolescent women, estimating the influence of both changes in the level of recent sexual activity and changes in the level of contraceptive risk”, according to the study. [The Guardian, 8/31/16]

ThinkProgress: 2014 Study Rebuked Claims That “Planned Parenthood Is Attempting To Convince Teens To Get Pregnant.” A 2014 study evaluated the effectiveness of Planned Parenthood’s comprehensive sex education program Get Real and found that “16 percent fewer boys and 15 percent fewer girls became sexually active by the end of eighth grade after participating ... compared to the kids who didn’t participate,” according to ThinkProgress. Researchers called the results “‘quite strong,’” while Planned Parenthood officials noted that the result “‘epitomizes Planned Parenthood’s commitment to reduce unintended pregnancies.’” ThinkProgress described the results as a “sharp divergence” from allegations that “Planned Parenthood is attempting to convince teens to get pregnant.” [ThinkProgress, 10/21/14]

3. Everett Has Pushed Extreme, Unfounded, And Anti-LGBT Myths About Sex And Sex Education

A) Everett Argued That Sex Education Radicalizes Children And Teaches Them “Perverse Behavior”

Everett: Sex Education Providers “Break Down” Children’s “Natural Modesty” And Teach Them “Perverse Behavior” By Becoming “The Sexperts In These Children’s Lives.” In addition to alleging wrongdoing by abortion providers, Everett has also been a vocal critic of comprehensive sex education. During an interview with Lost Arts Radio’s Richard Sacks, Everett argued that sex education radicalizes children because it “break[s] down” their “natural modesty” and teaches them “perverse behavior.” Sex educators accomplish this, according to Everett, by getting “children questioning their parents and their opinions” and by becoming “the sexperts in these children's lives.” From Lost Arts Radio (emphasis added):

CAROL EVERETT: So that works for the women. And then they go into our schools with sex education. And the program starts in kindergarten -- now it’s going to start younger than that because they have now developed books for 2-year-olds that are in government care. But in kindergarten they put the children in a circle and they go around the room and they ask the same question: “What do your parents say to call your private parts?” You know and I know that every family in the world has a different name for your private parts so by the time you reach the third or fourth child it is clear to those children that their parents do not know what they have. So, the instructor says, “This is what you have boys, and this is what you have girls, and don’t be ashamed of your private parts.” Have you ever met a kindergartener ashamed of anything? No, they’re out on the playground showing each other theirs. Now think about what happened there -- first of all, they broke down -- started breaking down -- the natural modesty.

RICHARD SACKS (HOST): Mhm.

EVERETT: They have the children questioning their parents and their opinions and they are becoming the experts -- the sexperts -- in these children’s lives. First, second and third grade the agenda is slightly different; it’s actually intercourse. Now these kids are are not interested in intercourse, but they have a small book -- we used a little square book -- they don’t use that book anymore, they have some others. This book is cartoons and it shows all sorts of sexual behavior -- male and female together. For 4-year-olds they have “It’s Not the Stork.” They have one for 2-year-olds, they have -- it’s so perverse I can’t even remember it. But it’s like “What’s Yours?” and it starts talking to these kids about their pee-pees and all this stuff at age 2. That’s what kids should be talking about at [inaudible]. They have one called “It’s Perfectly Normal” and, let’s see, -- “It’s Not the Stork,” “It’s Perfectly Normal,” and I cannot remember the other one, and I’m so sorry. I’ll think of it in a minute. But they use these books that are cartoon-like and they go to the public library, look in the sex education section -- look and see what they have, go to your schools and find out what they have in the sex education section -- we need to know and we need to be involved.

SACKS: Right.

EVERETT: Because it’s so -- it’s perverse behavior. [Lost Arts Radio, 8/1/15]

Everett: The Girls “Were Telling Me They Were Bisexual” Because Exposure To Sex Has “Broken Down” Children’s Values. During an interview with Lost Arts Radio’s Richard Sacks, Everett argued that sex education in public schools has “messed up” children’s sexuality. As an example, Everett told an anecdote about her granddaughter playing against “the lesbian team” during a soccer game and that the girls were “telling [her] they were bisexual.” Everett explained that although she had “known these little girls since they were 3… and talked to them about abstinence,” their exposure to sex education in public education had “broken down” children’s values. From Lost Arts Radio (emphasis added):

CAROL EVERETT: I got a call from my granddaughter in public school and who is an incredible soccer player. And she said, “You have to come to the game tonight.” And I said, “Why?” -- I’ve tried to go to almost every game -- and she said, “Tonight we’re playing the lesbian team -- you have to be there!” And I got there and the thing that was bad about that was I had known those little girls since they were 3. I had traveled with them on soccer team. I had put them in my car and talked to them about abstinence. Of course they laughed at me, they always laughed at me -- but I thought they were laughing with me.

RICHARD SACKS (HOST): Right.

EVERETT: And there they were, telling me they were bisexual at 17, 16. They don’t even -- I mean, what do they. I asked them what did they know, how did they know what they preferred? You know truthfully, we’re letting our kids get all messed up because we’ve got to tell them the truth. I want to go back and say to these -- I don’t know if anybody listened to [inaudible] more than one section [inaudible] and if you really think about how. If you don’t talk about the physical health -- if you talk about what it does to your heart to have sex with somebody and to bond with that person and then you break up with them. And then you go to the next one, and the next one, and the next one. And pretty soon they’ve broken down the processes that are supposed to [inaudible] with your body for life.

SACKS: Yeah.

EVERETT: We’re doing far more damage than we realize to these children. [Lost Arts Radio, 8/1/15]

Everett: Sex Education Teaches Kids To “Masturbate … In Groups Of Four Or Five Of The Same Sex,” Which Is Why “The Homosexual Lifestyle Is Exploding.” Everett called in to a December 2014 segment on Infowars’ Nightly News with Alex Jones hosted by Lee Ann McAdoo to discuss allegations that sex education helps abortion providers “expand their market.” According to Everett, comprehensive sex education alienates “children from their parents and their values” in part by teaching children to “Masturbate alone … and then in groups of four or five of the same sex.” She concluded that given this, it was no “wonder why the homosexual lifestyle is exploding.” From Infowars (emphasis added):

CAROL EVERETT: People don’t think of it as a business, but they have to expand their market, and who is their market? It’s the woman who’s had an abortion. And so who is the longest term customer for an abortion clinic? It’s a woman early in her teens who is going to continue using abortion as a method of birth control throughout her childbearing years. So they go into the schools -- our goal was three to five abortions between the ages of 13 and 18. But you cannot just go to these kids when they’re 12 and say, “I want you to start getting pregnant.” So what we did was we worked to create our market by breaking down the natural modesty, separating the children from their parents and their values, and becoming the “sexpert” in their lives. We were the ones to give them all of the information about sex.

And so, it starts in kindergarten -- simple things like putting the children in a room and asking them what their parents say to call their private parts. And by the time you reach the third or fourth one, because each family has a different name for the private parts, the children are pretty certain their parents don’t know what they have. But we did, and we shared, “Boys, this is what you have,” “Girls, this is what you have.” They would be sharing, first, second, and third grade the agenda isintercourse. Fourth grade it was masturbation. Masturbate alone until you’re comfortable and then in groups of four or five of the same sex. And we wonder why the homosexual lifestyle is exploding. [Nightly News with Alex Jones, Infowars, 12/3/14]

Planned Parenthood: Sex Education “Is Grounded In Evidence-Based, Peer-Reviewed Science” And Taught In Ways That Are “Developmentally Appropriate.” As part of the resources the organization provides to its educators, Planned Parenthood officials explained the methodology and curriculum of their sex education programs. According to Planned Parenthood, “Comprehensive sex education covers a wide array of topics that affect sexuality and sexual health” and “is grounded in evidence-based, peer-reviewed science.” In particular, Planned Parenthood noted that the goal of a comprehensive sex education program is to “promote health and well-being in a way that is developmentally appropriate.” From Planned Parenthood’s Tools for Educators:

Sometimes, people mistakenly believe that “sex ed” refers only to sexual behavior (e.g., sexual intercourse) and not the full array of topics that comprise sexuality. These include information and concerns about abstinence, body image, contraception, gender, human growth and development, human reproduction, pregnancy, relationships, safer sex (prevention of sexually transmitted infections), sexual attitudes and values, sexual anatomy and physiology, sexual behavior, sexual health, sexual orientation, and sexual pleasure.

Comprehensive sex education covers the wide array of topics that affect sexuality and sexual health. It is grounded in evidence-based, peer-reviewed science. Its goal is to promote health and well-being in a way that is developmentally appropriate. It includes information and communication skills building as well as values exploration. Ideally, sex education in school is an integrated process that builds upon itself year after year, is initiated in kindergarten, and is provided through grade 12. [Planned Parenthood, Tools for Educators, Accessed 8/30/16]

A 2004 Poll Found That “Three Out Of Four [Parents] Say They Are At Least Somewhat Confident” That Sex Education “Teaches Attitudes And Values Similar To The Ones They Teach At Home.” A 2004 poll commissioned by National Public Radio, Harvard University’s Kennedy School, and the Kaiser Family Foundation surveyed American’s attitudes about sexual education in public schools. The poll found that “only 7% of Americans say sex education should not be taught in schools.” In opposition to claims like Everett’s about the undesirable nature of topics taught during sex education, the 2004 poll also found that “Three out of four [parents] say they are at least somewhat confident” that the sex education curriculum taught in their child’s school “teaches attitudes and values similar to the ones they teach at home.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 1/4/4]

Sexuality Information And Education Council: Sex Education “Should Be Appropriate To The Age, Developmental Level, And Cultural Background Of Students.” On its website, Planned Parenthood promotes a sexual education curriculum that follows guidelines offered by the Sexual Information and Educational Council of the United States (SIECUS). According to SIECUS, sex education “should be appropriate to the age, developmental level, and cultural background of students” -- including the suggested curricula on mastrubation. In SIECUS’ guidelines for teaching children about masturbation, there is no indication that sex education teaches children to masturbate in groups. [SIECUS, Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Accessed 8/30/16; Planned Parenthood, Tools for Educators, Accessed 8/30/16]

B) Everett Claimed That Sex With Multiple Partners “Is Almost Like Rape”

Everett: It’s “Almost Like Rape When You’re Having Sex With Two Or Three” Partners. During an October 2015 interview with WallBuilders Radio’s Rick Green, Everett claimed that it was “almost like rape when you’re having sex with two or three” different partners. Although Green originally posed the question in terms of “this polyamorous thing,” Everett connected her comments to the distress experienced by “young women” who come to Planned Parenthood clinics “devastated by the fact that they’ve had sex with multiple partners.” From WallBuilders Live (emphasis added):

RICK GREEN (HOST): This polyamorous thing -- it’s growing -- it’s like open marriage without marriage, it’s everybody loves everybody and it’s three or four people in a relationship together. It’s crazy stuff --

CAROL EVERETT: It’s sick.

GREEN: What does that do a person’s heart and to their mind and to our communities? Because this is happening among people in the church even -- it’s sneaking in.

EVERETT: That’s terrible. Well, it breaks down all those natural barriers that we’re supposed to have and you know, if you’re thinking about this: One woman sleeping with a man and she knows this woman living here sleeps with him too -- how does she feel about that woman? That’s not a relationship that fosters anything kind. How does she feel about him? I mean, that’s in my mind almost like rape when you’re just having sex with two or three different women. It’s just, what are you doing? It’s a sick thing and I don’t -- the only thing that can help us recover is Jesus. There’s no way, Rick, that you could get over that. [WallBuilders Live Radio, via Right Wing Watch 10/20/15]

When Asked To Clarify Her Comments, Everett Continued To Allege That Having Multiple Sexual Partners Was “Like Rape.” After making the comment on the WallBuilders Live radio show that having multiple sexual partners was “like rape” for a woman, Everett appeared on Fox News’ Alan Colmes vs to defend her comments. During the November 2015 segment Colmes pressed Everett to explain how having multiple consenting partners -- who know about each other -- could be considered rape. In response, Everett said she “suspected” that many women would “stop consenting when they realize there are others involved sexually.” She continued that because women “bond with men” during sex, for a woman to realize a man has other sexual partners would be “a violation of everything she’s about.” She concluded that she couldn’t “imagine another woman who cares or respects herself who would” have sex with a man who had multiple consenting partners. From Alan Colmes vs (emphasis added):

ALAN COLMES (HOST): So if you have multiple sex partners with consensual adults -- consenting adults -- that’s like rape?

CAROL EVERETT: I’ll tell you what, sex for women is a bonding experience. And when you bond with a man and you know he’s sleeping with another woman it certainly interferes with your sex life with him. And yes, that could be rape if you know he’s sleeping with multiple partners --

COLMES: -But it’s all consensual. If a woman is consenting to have sex with one man or multiple men, or a man is consenting sex with multiple women, and everybody is consenting, how is that rape?

EVERETT: I suspect many of those will stop consenting when they realize there are others involved sexually.

COLMES: But how is that rape?

EVERETT: It -- it would be rape to me, Alan. It would be rape to me to know I was sleeping with a man and knowing he was sleeping with another woman and coming back to me.

COLMES: I mean that -- I mean that’s certainly dishonest, it’s cheating, it’s deceptive. But I’m trying to understand, if you could help me understand why that’s -- why that’s rape?

EVERETT: Why that’s rape? Well because it’s a violation of everything she’s about. Intimate is a -- sex is this most intimate of acts and here you are sharing it with multiple people? Even the doctors tell us that’s wrong, and certainly women have instincts about that. I mean, we bond with men, men don’t necessarily bond with us. But when we have sex, we bond with the man. And you don’t want to be bonded to a man who’s bonding with other women.

COLMES: What if it’s all consensual? Is that OK?

EVERETT: I wonder if it’s really consensual. Do women really put themselves out there to share their bodies and their man with another woman?

COLMES: Are you saying that if a woman consents to sex knowing that a man is having sex with other women, that’s still not consensual?

EVERETT: I still question if that woman would consent --

COLMES: You think --

EVERETT: I wonder how consensual it really is.

COLMES: Do you think women are not aware enough or able to make those decisions for themselves?

EVERETT: I believe women deserve the truth in all facets of their lives. And when women know the truth I think they make very good decisions. And I’m not certain how they would feel about consensual sex with a man who is having consensual sex with other women.

COLMES: But if a woman --

EVERETT: I wouldn’t do it, and I can’t imagine another woman who cares or respects herself who would. [Alan Colmes vs, Fox News Channel, 11/3/15]

4. Everett Has Partnered With And Promoted Extreme Anti-Choice Groups

A) Everett Has Promoted Discredited Allegations From The Center for Medical Progress (CMP)

Anti-Choice Center For Medical Progress Has Released Multiple Deceptive Videos Attacking Planned Parenthood -- All Of Which Have Been Debunked. Since July 2015, the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) has released a series of deceptively edited videos alleging that Planned Parenthood officials illegally sold fetal tissue from abortions. Scores of media outlets have confirmed that the footage shows no illegal behavior by, or on behalf of, Planned Parenthood, and that the words of Planned Parenthood personnel who were secretly filmed have been “grossly [taken] out of context.” Similarly, a growing number of state investigations have cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing. [Media Matters, 8/31/15; 8/24/15]

Everett Pushed Discredited Myths From CMP Alleging That Planned Parenthood Was “Violating The Law And Selling Babies’ Body Parts.” During an October 2015 appearance on Austin’s Fox 7, Everett invoked discredited information from CMP to justify Texas’ decision to cut Planned Parenthood from the state’s reproductive health safety net program. Everett argued the decision was “humane” because Planned Parenthood was “violating the law and ... selling babies’ body parts.” From Fox 7 Austin:

CASEY CLAIBORNE(HOST): Carol Everett is with the pro-life Heidi Group. She says the Medicaid cutoff won’t do much.

CAROL EVERETT: In 2011, Texas defunded Planned Parenthood. But Obama directly funded them in Texas, so their money does not come from Texas. And the Medicaid money was less than $2 million a year, so that’s not a lot of money for them. This is not going to affect Planned Parenthood.

CLAIBORNE: Everett says she does hope this will encourage women to go to another provider with better care that doesn’t have an abortion agenda.

EVERETT: There’s a broader spectrum of care outside of Planned Parenthood. So cutting out an abortion provider for violating the laws and for selling babies’ body parts is just humane to me. [Fox 7 Austin, 10/19/15]

Everett: CMP Videos Are “Horrible” And The Fact That “[My] Dog Can Watch The Video … And Whines Through The Whole Thing” Proves It. Everett has also promoted CMP’s deceptively edited videos as truthful. During an interview with Richard Sacks on Lost Arts Radio -- a conservative media show -- Everett claimed that CMP’s videos were so “horrible” that her “dog can watch [them] … and whines through the whole thing.” From Lost Arts Radio (emphasis added):

CAROL EVERETT: The thing that’s interesting to me is how this has affected pro-lifers. We’ve know it’s been going on forever. But when you sit down and watch those horrible videos where they’re cavalierly talking over salad and wine about harvesting baby body parts. Having lunch and negotiating the price that they would receive. There’s just something about it that’s so sick. … I’ve reached a point I don’t cry about many of these things because I’ve seen them so long. But I’ve been crying for the last few weeks. I just can’t get over it. And you know, I have a dog, and it’s interesting that a dog can watch the video, and I mean, this dog does not know what’s going on, and whines through the whole thing. There’s something, something so horrible about this. And if this doesn’t stop the $540 million, $1.47 million every day of our lives going into Planned Parenthood’s coffers, we are a sicker nation than I thought we were.

RICHARD SACKS (HOST): Yeah. [Lost Arts Radio, 8/1/15]

B) Everett Has Served As An “Integral Partner” To Troy Newman’s Operation Rescue

Operation Rescue And Its Leader Troy Newman Have A History Of Anti-Choice Extremism. Operation Rescue and its leader Troy Newman are known anti-choice extremists with a history of using violent rhetoric and harassing abortion providers. In a 2004 Rolling Stone profile of Newman and his associates, Operation Rescue was described as promoting a “new strategy to shut down abortion clinics by systematically harassing their employees into quitting.” In addition “threatening” to boycott companies that work with abortion clinics, Operation Rescue members also “rummage through [clinic] employees' garbage in search of incriminating information … tail them around town as they run errands … picket clinic staffers at restaurants while they're inside having dinner and castigate them while they're standing in line at Starbucks.” Beyond this, Newman has a history of making extreme claims about abortion and abortion providers. As reported by Right Wing Watch, Newman wrote in the 2003 version of his book Their Blood Cries Out that he believed abortion was a crime on par with murder and that it should be legally treated as such to “expunge the bloodguilt from the land and people.” In 2015, The New York Times reported that Australia had canceled Newman’s visa over “concerns that he might encourage violence against abortion providers or women seeking the procedure.” [Media Matters, 7/21/15; The New York Times, 10/2/15; Right Wing Watch, 10/1/15; Rolling Stone, 8/19/4, via Internet Archive]

Everett Is An “Integral Partner” In Texas To Newman’s Operation Rescue. In an episode of Catholic TV’s Facing Life Head On, host Brad Mattes called Everett an “integral partner in Operation Rescue’s investigations.” During the July 2015 episode, Everett explained that after receiving “a call from Operation Rescue late last year,” she recruited women who were “willing to go into the abortion clinics and be very aggressive.” The goal of this operation was to secretly film inside clinics to expose incidents that Everett alleged represented the “way women were being mistreated even today in the abortion clinics”:

BRAD MATTES (HOST): Carol Everett, a former abortion mill owner, is now the president of the Heidi Group -- it’s an organization dedicated to helping women with unplanned pregnancies making positive choices for themselves and their babies. As someone who knows the abortion business, Carol’s been an integral partner in Operation Rescue’s investigations. The evidence of violations they’ve uncovered has been vast and shocking.

CAROL EVERETT: We had a call from Operation Rescue late last year talking about the fact that they had an employee in south Texas who had on her own decided to go into an abortion clinic and found some grave violations. She found a filthy clinic, she found HIPPA violations, and it was like that opened the door for me to start thinking about the other 46 abortion clinics -- there are a total of 46 abortion clinics in Texas -- and what we would find if we went in there. So we brought in two young women from California -- they were willing to go into the abortion clinics and be very aggressive. We did not lie, we didn’t say they were pregnant, we went in and said, “If I were pregnant” or “I think I might be pregnant,” and we went in 12 abortion clinics and found incredible violations of the law and of the informed consent law and the way women were being mistreated even today in the abortion clinics. [Facing Life Head On, Catholic TV, 7/16/15]

Everett “Purchased Some Recording Equipment” To Secretly Film Abortion Providers Inside Texas Clinics. After being contacted by Operation Rescue, Everett “purchased some recording equipment” to secretly record abortion providers inside of Texas clinics, she told Catholic TV’s Brad Mattes. Beyond recording providers without their knowledge, Everett’s volunteers also “recorded all of the telephone calls” took “pictures” and went through the clinic’s garbage to find what she claimed were “babies’ body parts”:

CAROL EVERETT: We actually purchased -- very little; it took very little money -- but we purchased some recording equipment. And today you can buy pens and all sorts of things that have video recorders and tape recorders in them. And they went into the clinics and they were writing and moving their pen around and getting a better view and so we recorded everything.

BRAD MATTES (HOST): Video recording?

EVERETT: Video recordings.

MATTES: With audio?

EVERETT: With audio. Yes, and then we also recorded all of the telephone calls and then when they went into a clinic and they found something, they would take pictures and then if they found something in the trash can, they labeled everything and kept it separate, kept it all together, and when we found baby’s body parts they were put in freezers to keep cold until the investigation was completed. [Facing Life Head On, Catholic TV, 7/16/15]

5. Everett Has Made Misinformed Attacks On Planned Parenthood

A) Everett Alleged Planned Parenthood Has “A Website That Actually Encourages Sex With Animals”

Everett: Planned Parenthood And Other Abortion Providers “Have A Website That Actually Encourages Sex With Animals.” On an episode of Fox News’ Alan Colmes vs, Everett alleged that Planned Parenthood -- along with other abortion providers -- had a “website that actually encourages sex with animals.” When host Alan Colmes pressed Everett for the URL to a website that would substantiate her claim, Everett said it was one of “the Planned Parenthood websites for teenagers.” From Alan Colmes vs (emphasis added):

ALAN COLMES (HOST): You say “sold” and you talk about Planned Parenthood as wanting to sell women or push abortions to women. And you say that they encourage them to have sex with multiple partners in the process.

CAROL EVERETT: Well, if you look on some of the TeenWire and some of the other websites that Planned Parenthood has, it’s very interesting to see that they’re encouraging children -- young people -- to experiment with all sorts of, actually, bestiality even.

COLMES: Wait, wait a minute. Planned Parenthood is promoting beastiality?

EVERETT: Look online at the Planned Parenthood websites for teenagers. There it is in black and white and color. What I’m saying, there it is.

COLMES: Can you give me the URL where I can see that Planned Parenthood is actually promoting bestiality between children and animals? I mean, where is this happening?

EVERETT: Well, it’s online -- I’ll have to give you the URL because I don’t have it in front of me --

COLMES: That Planned Parenthood is behind this?

EVERETT: All sorts of abortion providers are behind it. Planned Parenthood and others.

COLMES: But you’re including Planned Parenthood as being among the groups … specifically you’re saying Planned Parenthood is promoting beastiality?

EVERETT: I am saying that they have a website that actually encourages sex with animals. [Alan Colmes vs, Fox News Channel, 11/3/15]

Raw Story: “When Asked To Provide Evidence, Everett Sent Colmes A Link To” The Website Of An Anti-Abortion Group. In a November 3, 2015, article, Raw Story’s David Ferguson followed up on Everett’s promise to provide Fox News host Alan Colmes with evidence of her claims against Planned Parenthood. Ferguson found that rather than providing a link to a Planned Parenthood website, Everett instead sent Colmes to a webpage run by the anti-choice group American Life League. This anti-abortion website included “an excerpt from a 1981 study of male sexuality by Wardell Pomeroy, MD,” which noted several cases that were unrelated to Planned Parenthood where “‘farm boys who have had a loving sexual relationship with an animal’” later felt shame about their actions. From Raw Story (emphasis original):

When asked to provide evidence, Everett sent Colmes a link to anti-abortion extremists the American Life League’s list of “Planned Parenthood quotes,” one of which contains an excerpt from a 1981 study of male sexuality by Wardell Pomeroy, MD that said:

“I have known cases of farm boys who have had a loving sexual relationship with an animal and who felt good about their behavior until they got to college, where they learned for the first time that what they had done was ‘abnormal.’ Then they were upset.”

Pomeroy was a sex researcher who worked with Alfred Kinsey, but it remains unclear how this relates to anything produced by Planned Parenthood or under that organization’s auspices. [Raw Story, 11/3/15]

B) Everett Pushed The Myth That Planned Parenthood Targets Black Communities

Everett: Planned Parenthood Is Targeting Black Communities Because “Until Recently There Was Not A Single Abortion Clinic Located In A White, Middle Class Area.” During a December 2014 interview on Infowars’ Nightly News with Alex Jones, Everett and guest host Lee Ann McAdoo pushed the myth that Planned Parenthood targets black communities. McAdoo asked Everett whether Planned Parenthood was “specifically targeting minority groups here in the public schools to get them to become these repeat [abortion] clients?” In response, Everett asserted that Planned Parenthood was marketing in these communities because “until recently there was a not a single abortion clinic located in a white, middle class area.” From Nightly News with Alex Jones (emphasis added):

LEE ANN MCADOO (HOST): Now, you all were going to public schools and we’re seeing a lot of reports coming out -- we’ll just talk about reports from New York specifically. But basically, in 2012 more abortions were performed on black women than black children were born in New York. Minorities, black and Hispanic people, made up about 78 percent of all the abortions. And now today, without a hint of irony, Planned Parenthood is joining the Ferguson protestors with their #BlackLivesMatter protest. So, Planned Parenthood, who is out here seemingly targeting black and Hispanic minority groups, so I just want to, I’ve got you here: Were they specifically targeting minority groups here in the public schools to get them to become these repeat clients?

CAROL EVERETT: We just have to look at where their facilities are located.

MCADOO: Right.

EVERETT: And until recently, there was a not a single abortion clinic located in a white, middle class area. They were all located in black areas. In 1984, Planned Parenthood came to San Antonio, Texas, and hired a hispanic marketing firm to learn how to market to the Hispanic population -- i.e. the fastest growing population in the nation and the fastest growing in the abortion numbers and in the teen pregnancy numbers. So they in 1984 recognized that they had almost saturated the black community. And on the East Coast two out of three abortions are on black women -- two out of three. And so they had that saturated and started on the Hispanic population and now they are moving into the white and Hispanic neighborhoods with abortion facilities and with their “family planning” facilities. [Nightly News with Alex Jones, Infowars, 12/3/14]

Guttmacher Institute: “6 In 10 Abortion Providers Are Located In Majority-White Neighborhoods.” According to the Guttmacher Institute, “The claim that most abortion providers are located in black or Hispanic neighborhoods” is demonstrably false. Instead, Guttmacher found that “6 in 10 abortion providers are located in majority-white neighborhoods.” Women of color do experience higher rates of unintended pregnancy and more frequently elect to abortion, ThinkProgress’ Kira Lerner explained, but she noted that these numbers simply reflect “the difficulties that many women in minority communities face in accessing high-quality contraceptive services and in using their chosen method of birth control consistently and effectively.” [ThinkProgress, 8/13/15; Guttmacher Institute, 2014]