Planned Parenthood had nothing to worry about from the New York Times, a Washington Free Beacon analysis has found.
A top executive at Planned Parenthood was caught on video saying that one of the fears the organization had about openly selling fetal tissue from abortions was the fallout that would result from the "New York Times headline" once the news came out.
So what did those headlines look like?
Well, the first story appearing in the Times, by reporter Jackie Calmes, on the undercover videos revealing Planned Parenthood involvement in the controversial practice had a fair, but certainly not damaging headline.
"Video Accuses Planned Parenthood of Crime," July 15
Calmes wrote again just days later, revealing that Planned Parenthood had apologized for the "lack of compassion" shown by executives in the video.
Accompanying the article was this vague headline:
"An Apology Over a Video Involving Fetal Tissue," July 17
Calmes wrote multiple straight news stories over the next week, which led to this defense of Planned Parenthood from the Times editorial board:
"An Ugly Campaign of Deception," July 22
In the weeks to follow, more videos implicating Planned Parenthood were released, but aside from this piece from Ross Douthat, the headlines became less and less damaging.
"The Propaganda Campaign to Misrepresent Planned Parenthood," July 29
"The Case for Fetal-Cell Research," July 30
Then came an attack from Nicholas Kristof on Republicans for "trying to destroy a government program that helps prevent 345,000 abortions a year":
"Our Sex-Crazed Congress," August 2
Then some advice on how to better defend Planned Parenthood:
"How to Really Defend Planned Parenthood," August 5
In case those abortion rights supporters needed a reminder about how to defend selling fetal tissue, the Times re-wrote its article from July 30.
"Why We Need Fetal Tissue Research," August 14
Then the Times offered support to the theory that everything bad about Planned Parenthood in the videos should be ignored because the video was edited.
"Planned Parenthood Video Was Altered, Analysis Says," August 28
The coverage culminated this weekend, with full-blown support and admiration by the Times for Planned Parenthood and all the other heroes that sell fetal tissue.
"Save Fetal Tissue Research, and Save Lives," September 12
Clearly, VanDerhai needn’t have ever worried about Planned Parenthood getting bad headlines from the New York Times.