Abortion

North Carolina Abortion Foe Stretches Truth In “Planned Parenthood” Tale

It was a dramatic tale of evil Planned Parenthood pushing a teen to abort.  Too bad it wasn't true.

While trying to testify in favor of a mandatory ultrasound before an abortion, as well as a chance to demonize Planned Parenthood, one North Carolina representative told her own story of how a family member was nearly aborted by an overly zealous provider intent on pushing for an abortion at any cost.

Via the News Observer:

Rep. Pat McElraft fought tears as she recounted how her nephew took his girlfriend to Planned Parenthood 14 years ago seeking to end her pregnancy.

“She went to Planned Parenthood, asked them what her choices were,” said McElraft, an Emerald Isle Republican. “They told her she would have a deformed baby because of her drug use, her only option was abortion. …

“He went with her to what she describes as a very dark house. In that very dark house, a nurse attended to her. My nephew asked the nurse if she could at least see the ultrasound. The nurse said, ‘I can’t do that, I’ll get fired.'”

Eventually, the nurse showed the couple the screen.

“It was a perfectly formed, little human baby,” McElraft said. “They had lied to her about how far along she was. They had lied to her about the deformity of that baby. She left there immediately.”

The couple married and that fetus is now a teenager, McElraft said.

There are only a couple of problems with the story, such as the fact that it happened over a decade ago, it didn’t even happen in that state, and it wasn’t Planned Parenthood providing the abortion, as her colleague pointed out.

“Because Planned Parenthood has been continuously defamed during this session, I wanted to make sure that in Rep. McElraft’s telling of such an emotional story, that the members were not misled into believing that a Planned Parenthood facility would ever operate in such a manner. Also, I think it is extremely unfortunate that Rep. McElraft would use a story that happened in another state over a decade ago to conclude that changes must be made in North Carolina in 2011.”

Never let the truth get in the way of a good narrative.