For Release: July 29, 2015

NARAL Pro-Choice Texas Statement on Sham Hearing Attacking Abortion Providers Austin, TXOn Wednesday, the Texas Senate Health and Human Services held a hearing on Planned Parenthoods practices regarding fetal tissue donation. The hearing was called after an anti-abortion organization released undercover, heavily-edited videos of their conversations with Planned Parenthood employees. Heather Busby, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, made the following statement in response to the hearing: This hearing was clearly nothing more than an opportunity for anti-choice politicians and special interest groups to have a soapbox to attack abortion access. The true intent of the hearing was evident from the moment the witness list was released, which included the directors of four separate anti-choice lobbying organizations. NARAL Pro-Choice Texas was not invited to testify. And given the timing of this hearing conducted before any actual investigation was done its clear this was never meant to be a fair or honest inquiry. Lets be clear: this is a witch hunt. The group behind these videos is widely discredited and has close ties to domestic terrorists and extremist groups. The videos are misleading and heavily edited. Their intent is to whip anti-choice forces into a frenzy and incite further attacks both political and physical against the brave abortion providers who risk their lives every day to be there for their patients. Attorney General Ken Paxtons statements were pure political grandstanding. We know that extremist elected officials like Paxton will continue to put their personal agenda above the law, distorting the facts and manipulating the public in order to achieve their overall goal of making safe, quality abortion care completely inaccessible to those who need it. Paxton stated in the hearing that he thinks, we treat bodies better in prison than we do in abortion clinics. However, we have yet to see anything from Paxtons office denouncing the wrongful arrest and suspicious death of Sandra Bland in a Waller County jail. On Thursday the House County Affairs committee is holding a hearing to investigate jail standards and the treatment of mental health issues in jails. I dont expect that Paxton will testify at that hearing about his offices plans to investigate jail policies and procedures. There are much bigger problems in our state that these lawmakers should be addressing. NARAL Pro-Choice Texas denounces this political theater. We support our abortion providers and stand with Planned Parenthood.

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Contact: Zoey Lichtenheld, NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, zoey@prochoicetexas.org, o: (512) 462-1661, m: (512) 920-2046