Reid: Planned Parenthood attack happened in the 'context' of GOP rhetoric

By Pete Kasperowicz, Pete Kasperowicz

Published December 20, 2015

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid implied Monday that Republican attempts to defund Planned Parenthood played a role in the shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado last week, and said political leaders have to "think very hard" about what they say going forward.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Reid said the attack, which took the lives of three people, including a police officer, happened in the "context" of ongoing GOP attacks against the group.

"We in the Senate should not fail to see the context in which this vile assault took place," Reid said.

"Last summer, a right-wing group began unleashing a series of heavily edited videos with unsubstantiated allegations, and since that time Republicans in Congress have made it their mission to push these unsubstantiated allegations every chance they get," he said.