On Friday, CBS This Morning actually highlighted the "tough, new questions" Planned Parenthood is facing, showcasing the "latest and most graphic video." ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today, despite a combined running time of six hours, ignored the story.
This Morning Co-anchor Norah O'Donnell, in addition to showing footage, alerted, "Planned Parenthood is facing tough new questions this morning. A fourth undercover video is out, showing a doctor at the women's health provider talking about selling fetal body parts."
Reporter Julianna Goldman explained, "It's the second video to be released this week and the group is promising it won't be the last." She included video of a Planned Parenthood doctor focusing on money: "I think a per-item thing works a little better, just because we can see how much we can get out of it."
The journalist also included a tweet from Marco Rubio mocking the lack of outrage. Republican Senator Joni Ernst declared in a sound bite, "These videos are hard for anyone to defend and hit at the moral fabric of our society."
Goldman balanced this out with a clip of a woman defending the work of Planned Parenthood, as well as Hillary Clinton dismissing the effort to defund Planned Parenthood: "It's another effort by the Republicans to, you know, try to limit the health care options for women."
Instead of covering this important story, Good Morning America spent four minutes and seven seconds on telling men how to "ditch the dad bods." The Today show devoted a minute to showing viewers "amazing balloon animals," but nothing on Planned Parenthood.
As of Thursday, the networks had spent 30 minutes on Cecil the lion and just 11 minutes on the Planned Parenthood scandal. CBS and NBC covered the abortion story on Thursday night, but offered a defense against the defunding effort. ABC kept quiet.
A transcript of the July 31 CBS This Morning segment is below:
7:13am ET
2 minutes and 22 secondsNORAH O'DONNELL: Planned Parenthood is facing tough new questions this morning. A fourth undercover video is out, showing a doctor at the women's health provider, talking about selling fetal body parts. Julianna Goldman is in Washington where Republicans want to end federal funding of Planned Parenthood. Julianna, good morning.
JULIANNA GOLDMAN: Good morning. It's another secretly recorded video by an anti-abortion group, the Center for Medical Progress. It's part of a two and a half year sting alleging the organization profits from selling fetal tissue for medical research. It's the second video to be released this week and the group is promising it won't be the last. The latest and most graphic video features a Planned Parenthood doctor in Colorado discussing providing fetal tissue for a fee.
DOCTOR: I think a per-item thing works a little better, just because we can see how much we can get out of it.
GOLDMAN: Going inside a lab and pointing out body parts from an aborted fetus.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN IN CONGRESS: A bill to prohibit federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
GOLDMAN: It's only amplifying calls from Republicans to investigate whether Planned Parenthood is violating federal law by selling fetal tissue for profit or changing an abortion procedures to better harvest organs. The Senate plans to vote next week on a measure that would cut off the $500 million in government funding the group gets each year.
SENATOR. JONI ERNST: (R-Iowa): These videos are hard for anyone to defend and hit at the moral fabric of our society.
GOLDMAN: On the campaign trail, Senator Marco Rubio connected the controversy to the Minnesota dentist who accused of killing a lion in Africa, tweeting, "Look at all the outrage over a dead lion. But where is all the outrage over the Planned Parenthood dead babies?" Hillary Clinton has called the videos disturbing, but on Thursday said Republicans were using them to undermine Planned Parenthood's mission.
HILLARY CLINTON: It's another effort by the Republicans to, you know, try to limit the health care options for women.
WOMAN [Planned Parenthood video]: I can honestly say that I am here today healthy and alive because of Planned Parenthood.
GOLDMAN: Planned Parenthood released a new ad campaign and it's fiercely defending its work. It's president writing in the Washington Post that "these videos do not show anything illegal." Now, the White House says President Obama will oppose any efforts to take money away from Planned Parenthood. Gayle?
