Donald Trump Once Again Praises Planned Parenthood For ‘Doing Some Very Good Work’ Helping Millions Of Women

The GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump has an unusual stance on Planned Parenthood compared to his conservative peers. In fact, Donald Trump has praised the organization on multiple occasions for the “good work” they do for millions of woman across the country. Although the currently conservative Trump notes that he would vote to defund Planned Parenthood if they continued to offer abortions to clients, that hasn’t stopped him from praising the organization, noting that “millions of woman have been helped” by the organizations other services.

Donald Trump isn’t new to turning heads, but many pro-life supporters are concerned about comments from the Republican front-runner in regards to Planned Parenthood. The businessman has not been shy about speaking out about the “good” services that Planned Parenthood offers to women across the country. In fact, Trump has noted on multiple occasions that the organization does a lot of “good work,” including providing cervical cancer screenings.

His tune has not changed on the matter, leaving many pro-life conservatives fearful of a Trump presidency. In a Super Tuesday victory interview on Meet the Press, Donald Trump spoke briefly about Planned Parenthood and where he stands on funding the organization. Trump first notes that the organization does a lot of good work and says that “millions and millions” of women receive much-needed services from Planned Parenthood clinics across the country. However, he said he could not support funding the organization so long as they offer abortion services. He notes that many “so-called conservatives” disagree with him on this matter but he isn’t backing down.

“Look, Planned Parenthood has done very good work for many, many — for millions of women. And I’ll say it, and I know a lot of the so-called conservatives, they say that’s really … cause I’m a conservative, but I’m a common-sense conservative. Millions of people — and I’ve had thousands of letters from women — that have been helped.”

The full Meet the Press interview can be heard below.

Donald Trump notes that while another candidate he won’t name claims he “won’t spend that kind of money on women’s health issues,” he doesn’t agree. Instead, Trump says he would fully fund Planned Parenthood so long as it was certain none of the money was going to abortions. He says that he has spoken to many women who understand Planned Parenthood better than he ever could and that he realizes they provide a service that women need.

“A lot of women’s health issues are taken care of. I know that other candidates, I won’t mention names, said ‘we’re not going to spend that kind of money on women’s health issues.’ I am! Planned Parenthood does a lot of good, does a lot of good work in a lot of areas but not on abortion. So, I’m not going to fund it if it is doing the abortion. I am not going to fund it.”

Therefore, it appears that Donald Trump supports all aspects of Planned Parenthood with the exception of abortion. His stance seems to be that if Planned Parenthood continues to perform abortions, he cannot fund them. However, if they stop abortions, he would have no problem funding the remainder of their services for women.

Many conservative Republican voters have decried his praise of Planned Parenthood, saying it is proof that Trump is not an “ambassador for the unborn” or that they find the statements indicative of Trump’s liberal past.

According to Trump, so-called “conservatives” don’t like him praising @PPact.

We don’t. You are no ambassador for the unborn, Donald.

— Kimberly (@SouthernKeeks) March 2, 2016

@CorieWStephens @BenHowe Most of his base of support in these primaries have NEVER been GOP or Conservative.

He knows this.

— Brian Cates (@drawandstrike) March 2, 2016

Sadly for Trump, it doesn’t seem that Planned Parenthood wants his support either, even if it does look like the business mogul has a good chance of getting the Republican nomination. In fact, Dawn Laguens, the EVP of Planned Parenthood, responded to Trump’s statements, saying, “I don’t want you with us,” noting that he doesn’t stand with women, people of color, or Muslims.

.@realDonaldTrump you don’t stand w/ women. You don’t stand w/ communities of color. You don’t stand w/ Muslims. I don’t want you with us.

— Dawn Laguens (@dawnlaguens) March 2, 2016

The topic of healthcare in regards to health insurance plans was also covered by Trump in the Meet the Press interview. Donald Trump clarified in the interview that he would repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act and replace it with something else that was not limited by state borders. He says he has a number of different options but that it would solely depend on what could get passed. However, he says that there will not be people “dying in the streets” because they can’t have healthcare. In fact, he says for those who can afford healthcare, it would be left up to them as to what plan to purchase and it would not be mandated, but for those who cannot afford healthcare, it would be offered to all.

What do you think about Donald Trump’s stance on Planned Parenthood? Do you think the conservative Christian voter base of the Republican Party could get behind supporting Planned Parenthood if abortion was removed from their service offering, or would they remain staunchly against the organization who performed abortions in the past? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

[Photo by John Minchillo/AP]