Jeb Bush gets four Pinocchios for saying Planned Parenthood is 'not actually doing women's health'

Jeb Bush's nose grew a bit longer this week when he claimed that Planned Parenthood was "not actually doing women's health issues," The Washington Post's fact checker reports. Speaking off the cuff at a town hall event in Colorado Tuesday, Bush explained why he cut off state funding to Planned Parenthood when he was governor of Florida, saying he thinks the U.S. should be directing resources away from Planned Parenthood and toward women's health issues. "I, for one, don't think Planned Parenthood ought to get a penny, though," Bush said. "And that's the difference, because they're not actually doing women's health issues. They are involved in something way different than that."

That is "patently untrue," The Washington Post reports. So untrue, in fact, that The Post gave Bush four out of four Pinocchios. While Planned Parenthood does provide abortions, which was likely the sole activity Bush had in mind when he made this comment, The Post points out that it also provides "an array of women's health services, including Pap tests, female sterilization, contraception, and urinary tract infection treatments."

Moreover, Planned Parenthood accounts for 10 percent of publicly funded family planning centers, and serves over one-third of women who rely on such centers. While conservatives argue that community organizations could absorb Planned Parenthood's services should funding be pulled, the Post contends that "there are data that both support and refute that point."

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"If it is his goal to make that point," The Post adds, "Bush needs to refine his answer to accurately reflect underlying data."