Clinton defends Planned Parenthood after Republican attacks

Hillary Clinton speaks in Laconia, N.H., on Sept. 17, 2015. (Darren McCollester, Getty Images)

Hillary Clinton said Republican efforts to yank federal funding for Planned Parenthood would not stop abortions, but would deny millions of poor women health-care services, including cancer screenings.

In a live interview on CNN, the Democratic front-runner responded to a series of attacks Republicans lobbed at her during a In a live interview on CNN, the Democratic front-runner responded to a series of attacks Republicans lobbed at her during a In a live interview on CNN, the Democratic front-runner responded to a series of attacks Republicans lobbed at her during a In a live interview on CNN, the Democratic front-runner responded to a series of attacks Republicans lobbed at her during a prime-time debate Wednesday night

“This is just the usual back-and-forth political attacks, the kind of things you say when you’re on a debate stage and you don’t have much else to say,’’ said Clinton.

She cited her role in negotiating a cease-fire between Israel and the militant Islamic group Hamas and in building a coalition that led to sanctions against Iran.

A A A A standoff between Democrats and Republicans

“What this is about is the fact that some of the Planned Parenthood facilities perform abortions, which is legal under the laws of the United States,’’ she said.

“I understand that the Republican Party, and particularly the candidates we heard from last night, wish that were not the case, wish that abortion were illegal and they could turn the clock back,’’ said Clinton.

Responding to a clip of Carly Fiorina, considered one of the debate’s biggest winners, saying that an undercover video targeting Planned Parenthood showed an aborted fetus with a still-beating heart kicking its feet, Clinton said, “There’s a lot of emotion, there’s a lot of accusations being hurled about.’’

The portion of the tape was edited in by an outside group, called the Center for Medical Progress, making it unclear where it came from.

Clinton clarified that Planned Parenthood does not use federal money to perform abortion services, so the Republican attacks would only stop its health-care offerings.

“If it’s the services they are trying to shut down,’’ said Clinton, “that is just wrong.’’

In the interview, Clinton also repeated her apology for using a private email server while serving as the nation’s top diplomat and sidestepped a question about whether she would be willing to personally call on the Democratic National Committee to host more debates. She did say she would  “certainly show up anywhere the Democratic National Committee tells us to show up.”

The DNC has scheduled six debates, drawing protests from some Democratic candidates, including Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders, who have called for more.

“Once again Hillary Clinton laughed off questions about her secret email server,’’ Michael Short, a Republican National Committee spokesman, said in a statement.

“With her campaign under siege, it’s no wonder she is refusing to join the growing chorus of Democrats calling for more debates.”