Washington Post Runs Erroneous Report on Bid to Cut Planned Parenthood Funds

From http://lifenews.com/nat4886.html

Washington Post Runs Erroneous Report on Bid to Cut Planned Parenthood Funds

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 5, 2009

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Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Washington Post has given pro-life advocates another reason not to read articles from the traditionally pro-abortion newspaper. It ran an erroneous report on an amendment pro-life advocates support to cut funds from Planned Parenthood from the federal budget.

As LifeNews.com has reported, Senator David Vitter has filed an amendment to the omnibus spending bill to prevent taxpayers from having their money sent from the federal government to the nation's biggest abortion business.

While the money Planned Parenthood receives from Title X funds doesn't pay for abortions directly, Vitter says it still helps the abortion business.

The Washington Post's Mary Ann Akers writes in her column about the amendment that it would "drastically cut funding for family planning programs."

But John McCormack of the Weekly Standard indicates that's "untrue."

"Vitter's amendment wouldn't cut contraceptive funding provided under Title X by one cent. It would merely keep money from going to Planned Parenthood, an organization that performs more than 250,000 abortions annually," he writes.

"Vitter simply doesn't want taxpayer dollars lining the pockets of abortionists who also prescribe birth control," McCormack adds. "Yet, the Post ... inaccurately reports that Vitter is attempting to decrease family planning funds.

The Post should have gotten the story right because Vitter's amendment is nothing new.

McCormack points out that pro-life Rep. Mike Pence, when he proposed a similar budget amendment to cut Planned Parenthood funding in 2007, pointed out the same thing.

"The truth is that my amendment does not cut or reduce the budget for family planning in this appropriations bill. It simply prevents the appropriated funds from reaching an organization which profits from the abortion trade," Pence said at the time.

McCormack concludes: "Apparently the Post's reporter was more interested in pointing out Vitter's alleged 'family values' hypocrisy than noting this and getting the facts straight."