Tom Wolf, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, received “talking points” from a Planned Parenthood official on how he should react to the series of undercover videos that show employees of the women’s healthcare provider discussing the methods by which they sell aborted fetal tissue to biomedical companies.
In a report this week, the Tribune-Review said it obtained emails from the Wolf administration that Sari Stevens, executive director of Planned Parenthood’s political arm in Pennsylvania, sent to Wolf’s office on multiple occasions to impart advice. In one case, she sent “talking points” on the Planned Parenthood videos advising that the story “has not reached mainstream media yet; we are trying to keep it that way.”
She indicated that the message was intended to remain among “friends.”
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A spokesman for Wolf said the administration sent officials to all facilities in Pennsylvania to make sure they were in compliance with the law and that the email exchange reflects Wolf’s belief in a woman’s right to choose and that he did not use the “talking points.” Stevens said her correspondence with Wolf’s office was nothing out of the ordinary that a lobbyist or a stakeholder would do.
Concerns about a conflict of interest were raised about the administration’s investigation of Planned Parenthood clinics in the state because Wolf had appointed Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania board member Mary Isenhour to be his chief of staff.
Isenhour’s bio on the administration’s website makes no mention of her Planned Parenthood ties.
Wolf beat out Republican incumbent Tom Corbett to take the governor’s mansion in the 2014 election.
Wolf has a history of support from Planned Parenthood, due to his stand in favor of abortion rights. Wolf even received a “special video appeal” from Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, for Pennsylvania voters to “ditch” Corbett.
“Women deserve to have a true leader at the helm — someone who respects them and trusts them to make their own choices,” said Planned Parenthood’s Stevens in a press release from Oct. 29, 2014. “And that’s exactly what Tom Wolf will do after he wins the election Nov. 4.”
