WASHINGTON -- While many Republican presidential candidates continue to bash Planned Parenthood for controversial videos revealing its work on aborted fetal tissue research, frontrunner Donald Trump has decided zig where his rivals have zagged.
In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity on Tuesday night, Trump mounted a defense of the women's health provider, noting "they do good things that aren't having to do with abortion."
"Let's say there is two Planned Parenthoods in a way," Trump said. "You have it as an abortion clinic. Now that's actually a fairly small part of what they do, but it's a brutal part and I'm totally against it and I wouldn't do that."
Earlier Tuesday, Trump backed off his demand that Republicans shut down the government rather than give federal funding to Planned Parenthood. Republican leaders in and out of Congress support shutting down Planned Parenthood entirely and shifting funds to community women's health providers.
Trump reiterated on Fox that he opposes abortion, but thinks Planned Parenthood's other services ought to be given a second look.
"There are many ways to do that, because I'm totally against the abortion aspect, but I've had many women, I've had many Republican conservative women come up and say Planned Parenthood serves a good function other than the one aspect," he said. "We have to help women."