As the scandal continues to grow regarding videos that show leaders of Planned Parenthood discussing the sale of organs from aborted babies' bodies, the leader of a group for conservative women sent a letter to Jeff Zucker -- president of the Cable News Network -- to ask that he remove a political contributor from CNN because she also works for the pro-abortion organization.
The missive was written by Penny Young Nance, president of Concerned Women for America, and she called for the liberal cable channel to remove Hilary Rosen, who recently became a crisis communications consultant for Planned Parenthood while remaining a contributor for the liberal cable channel.
In her letter, Nance began by stating that she is the “CEO and president of Concerned Women for America, the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization with more than 500,000 actively participating members.”
She then noted:
I am writing to respectfully request that CNN immediately cease appearances by Hilary Rosen as a political contributor.
Since she has been hired by Planned Parenthood to handle the crisis that has resulted from the extremely newsworthy video footage of Planned Parenthood employees and officials negotiating the sale of the remains of aborted babies, there is clearly a conflict of interests.
“The dual role of working for a major news organization while also being paid to minimize the most impactful news story regarding the issue of abortion in recent memory is unacceptable,” Nance stated, “particularly as the questions surrounding Planned Parenthood, which receives more than a half-billion dollars annually from taxpayers, are playing a role in the presidential campaigns of both political parties.”
“In the spirit of an open and free press, fairness in news coverage, and credibility with viewers, CNN and Time Warner need to cut ties with Ms. Rosen and her firm, SKDKnickerbocker, while she and her firm are being paid by Planned Parenthood,” the CWA president stated.
“In addition,” Nance indicated, “any unpaid CNN appearances by Ms. Rosen or her employees at SKDKnickerbocker … should be clearly identified as representing Planned Parenthood.”
“As a matter of public trust,” the conservative women's leader continued, “I strongly appeal to you and other CNN executives to provide ongoing, in-depth coverage on what is rapidly becoming the most important, newsworthy and controversial exposé of our time.”
“I am happy to provide CNN and other news outlets with data, research and countless other resources at your request.” she concluded.
Meanwhile, a search of the Nexis database showed that Rosen's most recent appearance on CNN was on Thursday, June 25.
As NewsBusters reported on July 14, while “cable networks CNN and MSNBC looked the other way following the release of the disturbing video showing a Planned Parenthood executive discussing the sale of body parts from aborted babies, the Fox News Channel program Special Report offered a full report on the investigation by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) from chief legal correspondent Shannon Bream."
Host Bret Baier introduced Bream’s segment by describing the video as “startling” and one that “could put some in the abortion industry in a most uncomfortable position.”
On the following day, the broadcast networks devoted just 39 seconds to the story, out of the nine hours and 30 minutes of news shows they’d aired since it broke.
In addition, the nets censored an undercover video of Planned Parenthood senior director of medical services -- Dr. Deborah Nucatola -- explaining how her organization procures and sells the body parts of aborted babies.
By July 18, news of a Planned Parenthood executive stressing special ways to abort bablies wihtout "crushing" them so their organs and limbs can be harvested for researchers had hit the liberal members of the news media, which raced to defend the practice.
When finally getting around to covering the story, liberal reporters tried to downplay it, relying on euphemistic language, referring to baby parts as “fetal organs” and the “selling” of those parts as “donating.”
The coverage of the grisly story has continued since then. On Tuesday's edition of CNN's New Day program, Alisyn Camerota told David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress:
Critics of your organization … say that you're not journalists, as you purport to be on your website, but rather, you're violent extremists.
One thing's for sure: This story isn't going away as long as women's leaders and outspoken reporters -- like Greg Gutfield on The Five -- are willing to take on the nation's biggest provider of abortions, who continue to “crush” parts of unborn children so they can “harvest” other bodily organs and sell them for a tidy profit.
