Conservative Media Use Cecil The Lion's Death To Attack Planned Parenthood

Special Programs Abortion Rights & Reproductive Health

Written by Nicholas Rogers & Alex Kaplan

Published

Conservative media figures are using the death of Cecil the Lion to push bogus stories of Planned Parenthood selling aborted fetal tissue.

Death Of Cecil The Lion Sparks International Outrage

American Hunter Kills Beloved Cecil The Lion, Drawing Widespread Condemnation. Cecil the lion, a Zimbabwean icon, was “lured out of [a] national park, killed, beheaded and skinned,” according to The Guardian. The hunter is an American dentist named Walter James Palmer, who paid $55,000 to shoot Cecil with a crossbow and then a gun. Palmer is now wanted by Zimbabwean authorities and has been widely condemned online. [The Guardian, 7/27/15; ABC News, 7/29/15 ; BBC, 7/27/15, CNN, 7/28/15]

Anti-Choice Group Claims Planned Parenthood Deals In “Black Market In Baby Parts”

Center For Medical Progress Releases Third Deceptively Edited Videos Purporting To Show Planned Parenthood Officials “Haggling” Over Fetal Tissue Prices. The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) released a third video on July 28 claiming to show Planned Parenthood officials engaging in a “black market in baby parts.” Like the two deceptively edited videos previously released by CMP, the latest video once again features conversations confirming that Planned Parenthood is legally reimbursed for costs associated with the procurement of fetal tissue, in accordance with federal law. [Media Matters, 7/29/15]

Right-Wing Media Complain Cecil's Death Getting More Attention Than Planned Parenthood Videos

Limbaugh: How Can You Get “Teary-Eyed And Misty-Eyed” About Cecil The Lion's Death But Not Planned Parenthood? On the July 29 edition of his radio show, Rush Limbaugh said that while he understood the sadness over Cecil the lion's killing and was “ravaged with sadness” himself, he asked “how in the world can you get teary-eyed and misty-eyed and sad, and at the same time participate in burying what's happening at Planned Parenthood?” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 7/29/15]

Hannity: Celebrities Get “Weepy Over A Dead Lion,” But Protect “People Crushing Baby Parts.” On the July 29 edition of his radio show, host Sean Hannity said the killing of Cecil was “an honest mistake,” and asked if television host Jimmy Kimmel, who was angry over Cecil's killing, would “tear up over the Planned Parenthood videos and the body parts or the fetuses that are being crushed so they can save the liver and the heart and the lungs?” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 7/29/15]

Breitbart: The “World Explodes Over A Dead Lion” But Ignores Planned Parenthood “Carving Up Murdered Babies.” In a July 29 article on Breitbart.com, the conservative site castigated media and celebrities for “ginning up the mob over the death of Cecil” while “they facilitate evil against actual human beings all over the planet, including right here in the United States.”

The American media have spilled copious amounts of ink and spent enormous amounts of bandwidth ginning up the mob over the death of Cecil, a lion. Meanwhile, the major media rush to ignore the fact that Democrats now force American taxpayers to foot the bill for hundreds of thousands of murders of babies by organizations including Planned Parenthood; the media believe that a dead lion ought to trump Planned Parenthood carving up murdered babies to sell their body parts, Mengele-style. Celebrities who weep over Cecil, a lion, cheer when women across the United States decide to suck their baby's brains into a sink so that Planned Parenthood can distribute its kidneys for purposes of research. [Breitbart, 7/29/15]

Media Research Center's Dan Gainor: Cecil The Lion “Is Just An Animal. What About Selling Baby Body Parts?” The Media Research Center's Vice President of Business and Culture Dan Gainor dismissed outrage over Cecil's killing, pushing the media to instead cover the false story of Planned Parenthood “selling baby body parts”:

[Twitter, 7/29/15]

Ben Shapiro Taunts “Leftists”: Imagine Human Fetuses Are Lions. In a July 29 tweet, Breitbart's Ben Shapiro encouraged “leftists” to engage in a “thought experiment.” He challenged them to imagine unborn fetuses as lions.

[Twitter, 7/29/15]

Erick Erickson: “Cecil The Lion Was Killed. Who Cares About Babies?!” Erick Erickson criticized the media's focus on Cecil the lion, dishonestly tweeting that “Planned Parenthood was caught harvesting organ[s]”:

[Twitter, 7/29/15]

Richard Grenell Used Cecil The Lion's Death To Recirculate Lie Planned Parenthood Sells Fetal Tissue. On July 29, Fox's Richard Grenell tweeted: 

[Twitter, 7/29/15]

Fox Radio Host Todd Starnes Jokes That Planned Parenthood Is Selling Dead Lion Parts. On July 29, Fox News Radio host Todd Starnes attempted to equate the erroneous Planned Parenthood stories with the death of Cecil the lion, tweeting:

[Twitter, 7/29/15]

Dana Loesch On Fox News: “I Wish There Was As Much Outrage Over The Planned Parenthood Stuff As There Is Over This.” On the July 29 edition of Fox News' The Kelly File, conservative talk radio host Dana Loesch complained that there wasn't “as much outrage over the Planned Parenthood” videos as there is for the death of Cecil the lion. [Fox News, The Kelly File, 7/29/15]

Fox's Andrew Napolitano: “I Wish There Was The Same Outrage Over The Slaughter Of Babies And Sale Of Body Parts” By Planned Parenthood. On the July 30 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano said, “I share the outrage over of the slaughter of this magnificent animal but I wish there was the same outrage in this country over the slaughter of the babies and sale of body parts that Planned Parenthood has been perpetrating.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 7/30/15] 

This post has been updated with additional examples.