Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) on Wednesday night faced outrage at a town hall after he proposed to split Planned Parenthood into two organizations — one for “services regarding women’s health” and one to provide abortions, which he appeared to categorize separately.
“I will make sure that, dollar for dollar, women’s health services are funded in precisely the amount that they are funded now,” Lance said from the stage. “What I have suggested to Planned Parenthood is that it should have two separate organizations—”
Shouted down by the audience, he tried again.
“What I have suggested to Planned Parenthood is that it have two completely separate organizations, one that—” Lance began.
An audience member interrupted, shouting, “A table of men decided that! Not one woman!” The crowd applauded.
“One organization that deals with the services regarding women’s health and another organization that performs the abortion procedure,” Lance concluded.
“Let us choose our own doctors!” another audience member shouted.
“And I hope — I would hope that Planned Parenthood might look at that,” Lance said. The audience again responded with boos.
“In the district that I serve, there is a Planned Parenthood facility, and there are several federally qualified health care facilities,” Lance said. “Some deal with a whole panoply of services, and some are dental facilities, but there are more that deal with the whole panoply of services—”
“If I’m pregnant, I don’t need a dental plan,” another attendee interrupted, to pronounced cheers.
“Do you think it might be a compromise if Planned Parenthood were to have two separate—” Lance began.
“No,” audience members shouted, and continued to shout down Lance’s comments for almost thirty seconds.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in March began running digital ads against Lance’s reelection campaign based on his vote in committee to oppose Democratic amendments to House Republicans’ bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Hillary Clinton won Lance’s district in the 2016 election, indicating that he may face a tough race for reelection.
Watch the full video from Lance’s town hall via the Huffington Post.
