Out of all of the political responses to last week’s Planned Parenthood controversy, Republican Congressman John Fleming’s certainly ranks as one of the most entertaining.
Fleming took to his Facebook page over the weekend, posting a link to an article titled “Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex” and adding the status “More on Planned Parenthood, abortion by the wholesale.” The problem, of course, is that the article is a satire written by the parody news site, The Onion.
The Congressman’s error was first discovered by the blog “Literally Unbelievable,” which posts screenshots of Facebook users who have mistaken Onion articles for truthful reporting. In Fleming’s case, this was a tough mistake to make. The article claims among other things that Planned Parenthood has changed its slogan to “No Life Is Sacred,” that the Abortionplex can terminate a pregnancy every three seconds, and that it is full of luxurious amenities such as the largest rock climbing wall in Kansas.
The remaining space is dedicated to amenities such as coffee shops, bars, dozens of restaurants and retail outlets, a three-story nightclub, and a 10-screen multiplex theater—features intended not only to help clients relax, but to foster a sense of community and make abortion more of a social event.
Fleming’s spokesman told Politico that the post has been taken down, and declined to comment further. In the same article, The Onion’s editor Joe Randozzo explained that he’s proud to have Fleming as a reader:
“We’re delighted to hear that Rep. Fleming is a regular reader of America’s Finest News Source and doesn’t bother himself with The New York Times, Washington Post, the mediums of television and radio, or any other lesser journalism outlets,”
One anonymous Facebook user best summed up the entire incident in a comment on Fleming’s post: “The Onion is satire. How exactly did you get elected?”
