WASHINGTON – Center for Medical Progress creator David Daleiden, the activist responsible for the recent video attacks on Planned Parenthood, was able to tap into a network of experienced anti-choice figures dedicated to undermining health care for American women, as outlined in a report released by People For the American Way today.
The report, “The Activists And Ideology Behind The Latest Attacks On Planned Parenthood,” maps out far-right activists connected with Daleiden, such as Live Action founder Lila Rose, who has teamed up with James O’Keefe – creator of the deceptive videos that resulted in the collapse of ACORN – to orchestrate similar attacks on Planned Parenthood. Operation Rescue head Troy Newman, who runs a website listing personal information and photographs of abortion providers and once publicly celebrated the death of a provider, serves on the board of Daleiden’s Center for Medical Progress.
Released in advance of the Senate’s expected vote on legislation to “defund” Planned Parenthood today, the report situates these attacks within the long-running right wing campaign aimed at ending legal abortion in our country.
“Anyone who has passed an abortion clinic protest recently knows that these videos recycle a tired tactic: the use of graphic images and the vilification of abortion providers,” said Miranda Blue, Senior Researcher for Special Projects at People For the American Way. “It’s important to see the latest attacks for what they are: one piece of the larger far-right effort to not only shutter Planned Parenthood’s critical women’s health services but to end legal abortion entirely.”
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