The Associated Press has demonstrated a double standard in covering developments in various states in the wake of the gruesome Planned Parenthood videos posted by the Center for Medical Progress. Bad news for Planned Parenthood gets only local coverage. Exculpatory news, even if artificially concocted, gets national exposure.
In Florida, a statewide review of the state’s 16 Planned Parenthood facilities ordered by Governor Rick Scott led to four citations, as reported at Townhall: "[T]hree were conducting procedures that were outside of their licenses (a.k.a late-term abortions) and the last one was improperly logging the disposal of infant remains." The AP treated this news as a local story. Meanwhile, news that there have been no transfers of fetal tissue from the three abortion facilities in Kansas has been posted at both the wire service's main national site and at its "Big Story" site.
In addition to only giving it local coverage, the AP's unbylined story failed to even note that the Planned Parenthood facilities had been issued citations for breaking the law, and turned the narrative into a "Planned Parenthood responds" exercise. Instead, they were referred to as "licensing violations" (bolds are mine throughout this post):
Planned Parenthood responds to Florida inspection findings
Three of the 16 Planned Parenthood facilities inspected in Florida last week were performing procedures beyond their licensing authority, and one facility was not keeping proper logs relating to fetal remains, officials announced Wednesday.
The Agency for Health Care Administration released a report saying clinics in St. Petersburg, Fort Myers and Naples were performing second-trimester abortions when they were only licensed to perform first-trimester abortions. The report also found that a Pembroke Pines clinic was not following its own procedures for the labeling and dating of the disposal of fetal remains.
Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates Executive Director Laura Goodhue said in a prepared statement Wednesday night that the licensing violations resulted from the AHCA changing its definitions of gestational periods and that the centers were operating in compliance with Florida law.
“In the health centers AHCA reported on we only perform first trimester abortions, which we measure according to accepted medical guidelines and in accordance with Florida regulations as up to 13 weeks and six days from a woman's last menstrual cycle,” Goodhue said in the release. “This, as defined by rules, is still the first trimester. AHCA has never before indicated any different interpretation of this — including at inspections performed as recently as two weeks ago. AHCA's new interpretation is grossly inconsistent with years of previous inspections and outside of both the regulations and accepted medical standards.”
Goodhue's statement didn't address the improper logs at one clinic.
Gov. Rick Scott ordered the inspections last week. He said he was troubled by recent videos describing the organization's procedures for providing tissue from aborted fetuses for research.
There is no indication that AP attempted to follow up on Planned Parenthood's claim that the state had arbitrarily changed the first trimester cutoff point. Why not? Was that because the AP writer knew that the group was grasping at straws?
The nationally carried Kansas story reads like a deliberate attempt to offset the deservedly negative and gruesome news about Planned Parenthood facilities in California, Texas and Colorado contained in the Center for Medical Progress videos. The only thing which seems to be missing from John Hanna's report is a "Ha-ha, there's nothing wrong" statement. And why in the world did this story apparently deserve to be treated as dreadfully important breaking news?
APNewsBreak: No Kansas reports on fetal tissue in 15 years
Kansas has received no reports on the handling of fetal tissue in the 15 years that the information has been required whenever such tissue is transferred, the state health department has disclosed amid a national debate over abortion providers' practices.
The three abortion providers in the state say they don't have programs for the legal donation of fetal tissue for research by women who've terminated their pregnancies, and follow all state and federal laws. There are also no records to indicate that any other entities, such as hospitals, have had reportable transfers.
Kansas' Department of Health and Environment's disclosure comes in response to an Associated Press open records request, made after anti-abortion activists released videos showing Planned Parenthood officials outside Kansas discussing their handling of fetal tissue. The first two videos prompted Gov. Sam Brownback to call on Kansas' medical board to investigate whether illegal trafficking in fetal tissue was occurring in the state.
A 2000 Kansas law banning the for-profit sale of fetal organs or tissue requires any person who transfers the tissue — which can be legally donated — to file an annual report with the state health department providing details about such activities.
"This is just somebody looking for a problem that's nonexistent," said Julie Burkhart, founder and CEO of Trust Women, which runs a Wichita clinic that performs abortions.
Well, it's also somebody treating a non-story about a "problem that's nonexistent" as being worthy of 17 paragraphs of national coverage.
So what's the strategy at AP? Is it to issue records requests in as many states as possible to get evidence that many or most states aren't in the fetal parts business, thereby demonstrating that Planned Parenthood isn't really all that bad, or perhaps to try to claim that the facilities CMP targeted are rogue outlets not typical of the wonderful, caring people found at most of the organization's facilities? I wouldn't rule it out. I'm sure Planned Parenthood Executive Director Cecile Richards is keeping score — or is perhaps even suggesting where AP should target its sanitation exercises.
Though there's no shortage of potential nicknames for AP, including my personal favorite, the Administration's Press, coverage decisions and content like those seen here make me wonder if we should start calling it the Abortion Press.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
