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MSNBC's Velshi and Ruhle Love Planned Parenthood

July 5, 2017

Two of MSNBC's rising stars, Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle, want to inform everyone of all the "life-saving" services that Planned Parenthood provides.

"Let's take a look at a medical service provider which assists millions of Americans every year," Velshi said on air. "Boy, I can feel the Twitter exploding before I even say the name of it. Planned Parenthood."

"And there is a huge misunderstanding of what Planned Parenthood does. It's not the abortion store," Ruhle said.

"There is a talking point out there that Planned Parenthood is all about abortion," Velshi added.

In one segment, the duo went on a tangent defending Planned Parenthood and criticized Republican lawmakers for trying to cut taxpayer funding for the organization.

"We have framed this whole thing as Planned Parenthood being an abortion factory, but in fact, for many women, it is primary health care," Velshi said.

"For millions of women, it's their primary health care!" Ruhle said emphatically. "You know, we like, people like to give the quick and dirty, 'Planned Parenthood stands for abortion.' It doesn't; it stands for women's basic health."

In another show, Velshi said Planned Parenthood is a "critical tool" for saving lives. Later in the segment, he used statistics about the work Planned Parenthood does—using Planned Parenthood itself as the source of his numbers. Velshi then had a representative from Planned Parenthood on his show to defend the organization. The official urged viewers to call their senators to stop Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood in their health care bill.

Velshi claims he is not an advocate for Planned Parenthood.

"I'm not an advocate, just trying to tell you it's a complex organization," Velshi said.