At this writing, Planned Parenthood facilities in the United States do not provide mammograms. The Secretary of Health and Human Services has claimed otherwise and so has the reigning Miss Tennessee – and they’re both wrong. A big deal? Only because PP’s national leadership does not correct the falsehood – or maybe it’s a simple mistake, albeit particularly egregious coming from an HHS official.
The persistence of the Planned-Parenthood-does-mammograms myth prompted a nationwide “Schedule Your Mammogram With PP” day this week. Women called their local PP affiliates and asked for mammograms. No luck. Abby Johnson has produced a Storify post summarizing the replies. (More can be found on the Facebook pages for Abby Johnson: ProWoman ProChildProLife and for And Then There Were None – Prolife Outreach.) A small selection:
No mammograms in Arlington, TX. All they do is refer. If giving out a name is all they can do and they “provide” mammograms the Google must be a mammogram provider, too!
No mammograms in Riverside, CA.
I couldn’t schedule a mammogram at any Planned Parenthood in Utah.
And so on. Hold on to that Storify link. Might come in handy at some point – such as the next time a beneficiary of PP political donations lets slip the word “mammogram” when defending PP.
[updated]
Leaven for the Loaf 