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As eager as Republicans have been to attack Planned Parenthood, a women’s health-care provider that also performs abortions, Democrats have rushed to defend the group. And, at least during the presidential primary season, the issue is working for candidates from both parties. Former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina, who earned a spike in the polls following her recent GOP debate performance, Monday vowed to defund the organization, earning the greatest round of applause during her stint at the Iowa State Fair soapbox. (Meckler and Ballhaus, 8/18)

After weeks of bad PR over videos of its executives discussing fetal tissue and organs, the group is unveiling a six-figure broadcast and cable ad buy Tuesday that will run in the states of four vulnerable Republican senators, according to details obtained by POLITICO. The lawmakers could be key to deciding whether a fight over the group’s funding triggers a federal government shutdown this fall. (Palmer, 8/17)

Planned Parenthood Federation of America appears to be gaining traction in its efforts to push back against videos targeting it and state efforts to cut its funding. The Center for Medical Progress, which released undercover videos that it says show Planned Parenthood illegally profits from the sale of fetal tissue to medical researchers, is now under investigation in two states over the videos. In addition, the Obama administration warned Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana that they might be in violation of federal law after moving to choke off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. (Armour, 8/17)

Ben Carson’s presidential campaign is surging on a wave of support from socially conservative voters inspired by his passionate talk about faith and his attacks on Planned Parenthood. But while Carson insists he’s a fierce opponent of abortion, he also defends a long series of actions on the issue that are sharply at odds with the beliefs of the very voters fueling his rise. (Glueck, 8/18)

We have delved before into the question of birth-control pioneer Margaret Sanger, eugenics and her attitude about African-Americans, during the 2012 election season when Herman Cain made similar remarks suggesting Planned Parenthood targets blacks. The 2011 fact check came under attack for allegedly sugarcoating Sanger’s record, in particular for some language on her paternalistic view of blacks that we later acknowledged was a “poor choice of words.” Carson’s remarks are less inflammatory than Cain’s, but the implication is similar: The claim is that Sanger (1879-1966), who founded what is now Planned Parenthood, was racist and Planned Parenthood thus has a deliberate policy of trying to “control” the black population by placing “most of their clinics in black neighborhoods.” (Kessler, 8/18)