Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) told The Hill on Tuesday that Planned Parenthood and the gunman who shot and killed three people at its clinic in Colorado have something in common: they both have “no respect for innocent human life.”
Robert Lewis Dear, the 57-year-old suspect charged in the attack, surrendered after an hours-long standoff with police Friday. He reportedly told police after his arrest “no more baby parts,” which could be a reference to heavily edited videos released in recent months that purported to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of fetal tissue for profit.
Franks, an adamant pro-life supporter, once said Republicans working to defund Planned Parenthood were similar to abolitionists. He told The Hill that the organization itself was no better than the Colorado gunman.
“What this person did was evil, and it should remind us all of the common denominator that Planned Parenthood has with individuals like this who have no respect for innocent human life,” Franks said, according to The Hill.
“It should only increase our commitment to defund organizations … that further this non-ethic of disregarding the sanctity of human life,” he added.