From the diaries.

In the wake of Chen Guangcheng arriving safely in the United States, after years of persecution in China for his anti-abortion activism, The House of Representatives will vote tomorrow on H.R. 3541 (also known as the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act – PRENDA), a bill to ban sex-selection abortions in the United States.  Although the US has strongly condemned China for their sex-selection abortion practices, only four states (AZ, OK, PA and IL) currently have laws banning the procedure.  Sex-selection abortions have long been an issue around the globe, most notably in China and India, and studies show they are rampant in the US.  A series of videos, the first of which was released by Live Action this morning, exposes the role Planned Parenthood plays in America’s sex-selection abortion problem.

The first video, shows a woman visiting a Planned Parenthood facility in South Austin, Texas.  The woman, undercover for Live Action, spoke at length with a Planned Parenthood employee about how to proceed with an abortion should she find out that she is pregnant with a girl.  The employee’s instructions included how to use local OB/GYNs to find out the sex of the baby and how to defraud Medicaid to pay for all the costs associated.  She also advised the woman that many “regular” doctors would not provide an ultrasound should she indicate her desire to abort, as sex determination is usually made 5 months into the pregnancy and pretty much everything (including the brain) is already developed.

During Live Action’s investigation, Planned Parenthood became suspicious that their involvement in gendercide might be exposed.  Two representatives of the organization wrote at RH Reality Check last month about Planned Parenthood’s official stance on sex-selection abortion.

Gender bias is contrary to everything our organization works for daily in communities across the country.  Planned Parenthood opposes racism and sexism in all forms, and we work to advance equity and human rights in the delivery of health care. Planned Parenthood condemns sex selection motivated by gender bias, and urges leaders to challenge the underlying conditions that lead to these beliefs and practices, including addressing the social, legal, economic, and political conditions that promote gender bias and lead some to value one gender over the other.

The Huffington Post also came to the defense of Planned Parenthood, claiming that Live Action heavily edits their videos in their efforts to misinform the public. Yet, Live Action has also posted the original, unedited video that shows no conflict between it and the final video.

Further, when Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) first introduced PRENDA, Planned Parenthood was quick to come out in strong opposition of the bill.  While PRENDA only bans abortions used to discriminate based on the unborn baby’s gender or race, and it exempts the would-be mother from prosecution, Planned Parenthood claims the bill will “further isolate and stigmatize some women — particularly those in the Asian American and Pacific Islander and African American communities.”  In fact, a study of the 2000 US Census showed that, unless there was already a boy in the family, the number of boys born outnumbered girls by 50%.  The majority of sex-selection abortions in the US appear, according to the study, to be by Chinese, Korean and Asian-Indian women, in keeping with cultural heritages that traditionally favor boys.  In a 2011 study, 89% of Asian-Indian participants chose abortion when they found out they were carrying baby girls.  Many admitted to being victims of physical violence and starvation by their families in efforts to coerce the women into abortion.  Planned Parenthood’s willingness to provide sex-selection abortions only helps to further victimize these women.

A recent poll by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of the Susan B. Anthony List, showed  that 77% of Americans (and 80% of women) would support a ban on sex-selection abortions in the U.S.  The passage of PRENDA will be in line with the views of the majority of Americans and, with the help of video evidence by Live Action, the abortion extremists at Planned Parenthood won’t force their opinions on the country.