Here are a couple things to note with regards to the Planned Parenthood hearing:

1.) Only a tiny fraction, 3%, of what Planned Parenthood does is abortion. Just look at the graph to your right: Majority of what they do is cancer screenings, STD testing and other health services. Having said that, it shouldn’t even matter that abortion only makes up 3% of services, because abortion is legal! For good reason too: It serves as a safety net for women and children. Seriously.

2.)  In fact, majority of what Planned Parenthood does, is help people AVOID abortion. Look at the graph again: See that 35%? You know, the biggest piece of that pie alongside STD testing and treatment? Contraception. Contraception makes up 35% of what PP does: They help prevent unintended pregnancies, which prevent abortions from happening in the first place. Mic drop. Boom. 

3.) Lump sums of federal funds are NOT allocated to Planned Parenthood for abortion. Despite the fact that this was brought up repeatedly throughout the hearing, this is not true. Only a very small fraction of federal funding is allocated to abortion. For that small number that do, think about the woman, or child, who is receiving Medicaid to help cover that cost: Take into consideration the 16 year old child who gets impregnated by someone. Girls like this and their families often cannot afford to pay out of pocket for a medical procedure. The facts are there, yet these representatives attacking President of PP Cecile Richards are not speaking factually and are basing their rash assumptions on illogical emotions.

(update Oct. 23rd 2015: To add to the above paragraph, the Hyde Amendment prevents the use of specific federal funds to go towards abortion, except in the case of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.) 

4.) The highly edited video in question does not have any standing and Planned Parenthood does NOT sell fetuses.  It’s insane that this statement even needs to be clarified. Samantha Allen, writer for the DailyBeast, synthesized a statement about the law by the Center for Medical Progress, stating, “Women undergoing abortions sometimes choose to donate fetal tissue for scientific research and abortion providers do not facilitate these donations without their explicit consent..transferring human fetal tissue is legal in the United States provided that payments are for processing and transportation costs.” Which PP is in full compliance.

5.) One last thing to remember, the majority of Americans support Planned Parenthood. A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll found that “At a time when Republicans have been calling for cutting off federal funding to Planned Parenthood and threatening to shut down the government to do so, the new poll found that a strong majority of Americans — 61% — oppose eliminating funding, while 35% support a funding cut off.”

“The facts are on our side” as Richards put it, and that is why she chose to meet for the hearing in the first place: Because truth will win out.

For a great synopsis of the hearings, listen to these 6 audio clips.