May 2, 2016
We are so thrilled that Gloria Steinem will provide the keynote address at our James Awards gala, September 15 at the Hilton Memphis. VisitJamesAwards.org for more information!
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We are so thrilled that Gloria Steinem will provide the keynote address at our James Awards gala, September 15 at the Hilton Memphis. VisitJamesAwards.org for more information!
Do you live in Midtown Memphis? Come Meet & Tweet with #PPGMR on Thursday and enjoy free food and drinks. Click here to RSVP. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planned-parenthood-2016-meet-tweet-tickets-20480074454
Visit our site to learn more.
It's time to end the secrecy about our childbearing choices -- including abortion. Here's how to answer the shamers
It's time to end the secrecy about our childbearing choices -- including abortion. Here's how to answer the shamers
More pro-birth billboards erected in Memphis. Help SisterReach tell Pro-life Across America to stop shaming women and #TrustBlackWomen!!!! SisterReach #PPGMRTrustsBlackWomen
Report and Letter to Congress Outline Substantial Deceptive Editing in Anti-Abortion Video Campaign
Heavily edited, widely reported videos ‘significantly distort and misrepresent’ actual events, expert report concludes
(AUGUST 31, 2015 – MEMPHIS, TN)– Secretly recorded videos about Planned Parenthood and lifesaving fetal tissue donation were heavily edited and “significantly distort and misrepresent” actual events, according to an expert report submitted to congressional leadership today.
“A thorough review of these videos in consultation with qualified experts found that they do not present a complete or accurate record of the events they purport to depict,” wrote Glenn Simpson, a partner at the research firm Fusion GPS, in a 10-page report submitted to leadership of the House and Senate.
Fusion GPS assembled three teams of experts in video forensics, production, and transcription to review five secretly recorded videos of Planned Parenthood staff that have been released as part of a three-year fraud by a group of anti-abortion activists with extremist ties. The experts include Grant Fredericks who is an instructor of video sciences at the FBI National Academy and one of the most experienced video experts in North America. Fredericks and his team reviewed the short videos (of eight to 15 minutes in length) that have been widely reported on and viewed, as well as the longer versions of those videos (which total 12 hours for all five) that were released hours or days later.
This new report lays out the facts and details that these videos are deceptively edited, and should not be used as evidence in a legal context, and have no journalistic value. In Tennessee, state legislators and Memphis city council members have used the video attacks to lead politically charged investigations, endangering valuable health care services for thousands patients.
Key quotes from the expert report:
● “The short videos take a great deal of dialog out of context so as to substantively and significantly alter the meaning of the dialog contained in the long videos.”
● “CMP [Center for Medical Progress] edited content out of the alleged “full footage” videos, and heavily edited the short videos so as to misrepresent statements made by Planned Parenthood representatives.”
● “The short videos significantly distort and misrepresent the conversations in the full footage. Mr. Fredericks notes that the short videos contain edited conversations where some spoken words are eliminated and some spoken words are added out of content.”
● “At this point, it is impossible to characterize the extent to which CMP’s undisclosed edits and cuts distort the meaning of the encounters the videos purport to document. However, the manipulation of the videos does mean they have no evidentiary value in a legal context and cannot be relied upon for any official inquiries unless supplemented by CMP’s original material and forensic authentication that this material is supplied in unaltered form.”
Along with the expert report, Planned Parenthood compiled a short breakdown of the heavy, deceptive editing in the five videos.
Key data from the summary:
● Collectively, the five videos of Planned Parenthood staff have at least 42 splices where content is cut and edited together to create the appearance of seamless conversations.
● In some cases, these splices completely change the meaning of statements. On one video, a Planned Parenthood staff member’s remarks about lab protocols were edited to make it sound like she was talking about changing abortion procedures. Phrases on the video were isolated and removed, stringing together unrelated sentences to change the meaning. Anti-abortion activists used the doctored “quote” to support false claims that she was talking about changing how an abortion would be done, and the “quote” was published by mainstream media as if it were real.
● On one video, a Planned Parenthood staff member in Colorado says 13 separate times that any arrangements related to fetal tissue donation need to be reviewed by attorneys and follow all laws – and all 13 are edited out of the video.
● On another video, a Planned Parenthood staff member in Texas says nine separate times that there is no “profit” related to fetal tissue donation – and all nine are edited out of the video.
The summary of edits and the expert report were submitted to Senate and House leadership with a letter from Planned Parenthood Federation of America that provides background and information on our involvement with fetal tissue research. The letter explains that fetal tissue research is critical for helping develop cures for serious diseases and advancing public health. Planned Parenthood affiliates in two states – 1% of Planned Parenthood’s health centers – currently offer tissue donation as an option for women who want it. No Planned Parenthood affiliates in Tennessee currently participate in a tissue donation program.
The letter outlines the legal requirements of fetal tissue donation and quotes from Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s guidance for this work, which goes far above and beyond the legal requirements. The letter notes that, even with the deceptive edits to videos and misinformation campaign over the last six weeks, there is no evidence and no indication that Planned Parenthood has violated any laws or medical standards – and that, on the contrary, Planned Parenthood provides a full range of high-quality health care services to 2.7 million people a year, including birth control, cancer screenings, STD testing, and abortion.
“Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider of high-quality reproductive health care and sex education. Millions of people walk through our doors every year, all across this country, and trust us to give them the health care and information they need,” Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards said today. “Our commitment is to get all the facts and share them fully, and that’s what we’re doing today. We’ve said all along that these videos were heavily edited to deceive the public, and that’s what this expert analysis now shows. The more the public learns about this fraudulent, baseless attack on women’s health, the better, and that’s why today we’re laying everything out for leaders in Congress and for the public.”
“We’ve said all along that these videos were heavily edited to deceive the public, and now expert analysis confirms it,” said Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region. “Three teams of experts in video forensics, production, and transcription have determined, as we’ve always said, that the videos have no value in a legal context, cannot be relied upon for any official inquiries, and have no credibility as journalistic material. This may be a game for those who’ve produced these videos, but for the women and men in Tennessee, it’s their health care.”
Last week the Joint Government Operations Committee met to discuss the “selling of fetal body parts for profit” in Tennessee. The hearing featured testimony from the Tennessee Department of Health (TDOH). This week Republican Senators sent Gov. Haslam a letter asking him to authorize an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region turned over all of its policies and procedures relating to medical waste to TDOH before the hearing. TDOH already visits PPGMR annually for surprise onsite inspections, and there have been no complaints against the organization.
“We are transparent and welcome law enforcement into our health center, but as you know, this is a shameless waste of taxpayer dollars,” said Coffield.
To date, four separate committees in the House and Senate have launched investigations into Planned Parenthood. In the last two weeks, five states have concluded investigations into Planned Parenthood – and every one of them has found no wrongdoing. In two states – California and Texas – lawmakers have also called for investigations of the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). Last month, a bill to defund Planned Parenthood and block millions of women from having access to health care failed to pass in the U.S. Senate.
Links:
● The letter to congressional leadership submitted today
● The expert report on the deceptive editing of videos
● A summary of the deceptive editing of videos
● Fact sheet on public support for Planned Parenthood
● Fact sheet on state investigations finding no wrongdoing
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About PPGMR:
Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region (PPGMR), founded in 1938, is an affiliate of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. PPGMR’s mission is to improve health and well-being by providing high-quality, non-judgmental sexual health care, honest and accurate sexuality education, and reproductive health and rights advocacy.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact:
Latrivia Nelson
Planned Parenthood
901-725-3029
Planned Parenthood Encourages Parents to Learn the Facts and Vaccinate Their Children Against HPV During National Immunization Awareness Month
Forty Percent of Parents Don’t Know the HPV Vaccine Can Prevent Cancer
[August 12, 2015 – MEMPHIS, TN] — This National Immunization Awareness Month (August), Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region (PPGMR) is encouraging parents to protect their children’s health by learning more about the HPV vaccine and getting both girls and boys vaccinated to protect against HPV-related cancers.
Despite the availability of the HPV vaccine, only 38 percent of girls and 14 percent of boys ages 13 to 17 have received all three doses.
“One of the most important things parents can do to protect their children’s health is to make sure they get all recommended vaccines, including the HPV vaccine,” said Ashley Coffield, CEO of PPGMR. “The HPV vaccine saves lives, and it is most effective when administered to children ages 11-12, ideally years before they become sexually active. August is National Immunization Awareness Month, a perfect time to learn more about HPV and getting vaccinated to protect against HPV-related cancers.”
“As the nation’s leading women’s health provider and advocate, Planned Parenthood encourages everyone to visit their health care provider to discuss the benefits of the HPV vaccine – and we encourage women to receive regular checkups that may include cervical cancer screenings and testing for STIs,” Coffield added. “You can rely on Planned Parenthood for accurate, nonjudgmental, and high-quality information and care, including HPV vaccines, Pap tests and other cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for STIs.”
A national survey of parents that Planned Parenthood Federation of America conducted with the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH) at the Silver School of Social Work at NYU found that not enough parents have accurate information about the HPV vaccine and why it is important to vaccinate their children against HPV.
The survey found:
· Three in 10 (29 percent) parents didn’t know if HPV can cause cervical cancer, or if the HPV vaccine protects against cervical cancer (31 percent). Another 10 percent and nine percent of parents got the questions wrong, respectively.
· Nearly half (48 percent) of parents reported not knowing if HPV can cause cancer in boys and men. Another 12 percent of parents got the question wrong, saying it couldn’t.
Other national surveys have found that 35 percent of Americans have never heard of HPV, and 89 percent have never discussed HPV with their health care provider.
“Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., and it can cause cancer in both women and men,” said Coffield. “The good news is that cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers when protective measures such as getting the HPV vaccine, getting HPV and/or Pap tests, and using condoms are taken. The HPV vaccine is one of only two vaccines that work to prevent cancer and is supported by leading medical organizations as safe and effective.”
The HPV vaccine is safe for both females and males. Young people should get the vaccine when they are 11 to 12 years old as the vaccine works best when people receive it before any possible HPV exposure. Two of the HPV vaccines (Gardasil and Gardasil 9) protect against anal cancer in both women and men. Boys should get one of these HPV vaccines to prevent anal cancer and genital warts. Girls can get either of these vaccines to prevent cervical cancer, vulvar cancer, vaginal cancer, anal cancer and genital warts. Leading medical groups, including the American Cancer Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as Planned Parenthood, support young people having access to the HPV vaccine.
PPPGMR offer many preventive services including HPV vaccines, Pap tests, and STD testing. In 2013, Planned Parenthood health centers nationwide provided nearly 400,000 Pap tests and 35,000 HPV vaccinations.
Planned Parenthood believes that everyone deserves access to affordable, quality health care, and our doors are open to everyone. To find a Planned Parenthood health center near you, or to find more information about the HPV vaccine, visit plannedparenthood.org.
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About PPGMR:
Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region (PPGMR), founded in 1938, is an affiliate of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. PPGMR’s mission is to improve health and well-being by providing high-quality, non-judgmental sexual health care, honest and accurate sexuality education, and reproductive health and rights advocacy.
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Call for Volunteers: We need your support as a volunteer with Planned Parenthood this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday from 5:30-8 pm, we need a minimum of 8 volunteers each night for phone banking. We’ll connect you with key state legislators who are holding a hearing on August 19th to investigate PP's fetal tissue policies. (PPGMR doesn't even participate in fetal tissue donation.) To RSVP for either of these phone banks, please email Leah Ford at [email protected].