For an excellent summary of the key facts, see this report from the Chiaroscuro Foundation, titled "Does Planned Parenthood Need or Deserve Federal Funds?" In addition, several recent op-eds make the case for stripping Planned Parenthood of federal government money.
The first is by Alveda King and Gary Bauer. An excerpt:
[T]here's one group that isn't making the economic sacrifices most other Americans are making. Planned Parenthood, America's largest abortion business, receives $350 million annually from taxpayers in the form of government grants and contracts, even though it makes tens of millions of dollars in yearly profits.Second, former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson:
A current proposal to defund Planned Parenthood might seem like just another skirmish in the culture war. But it ought to be seen as something more fundamental: the most basic measure of whether our government is serious about resolving its debt problem. ...
[L]avish public subsidies aren't the only reason to defund the abortion giant. In recent years, Planned Parenthood centers across the country have been exposed for committing a variety of offenses—including refusing to comply with statutory rape reporting laws and parental consent laws, performing illegal late-term abortions and overcharging clients on birth control. ...
[I]f our federal government won't say "no" to a scandal-ridden business that's already raking in tens of millions of dollars a year in profits, who will it say "no" to?
Though 98 percent of Planned Parenthood's services to pregnant women are abortion, Planned Parenthood and its political allies have sworn up and down that taxpayer dollars do not to pay for abortion. But of course they do. Planned Parenthood gets one-third of its entire budget from taxpayer funding and performed more than 650,000 abortions between 2008 and 2009. An abortion is expensive. Its cost includes pay for the doctor, supporting medical staff, their health benefits packages and malpractice insurance. As clinic director, I saw how money affiliate clinics receive from several sources is combined into one pot, not set aside for specific services.
Planned Parenthood's claim that abortions make up just 3 percent of its services is also a gimmick. That number is actually closer to 12 percent, but strategically skewed by unbundling family planning services so that each patient shows anywhere from five to 20 "visits" per appointment (i.e., 12 packs of birth control equals 12 visits) and doing the opposite with abortion visits, bundling them together so that each appointment equals one visit. The resulting difference between family planning and abortion "visits" is striking. ...
It also claims to help reduce the number of abortions. Not only is this not what Planned Parenthood actually accomplishes, but its goal couldn't be more opposite. As a Planned Parenthood clinic manager, I was directed to double the number of abortions our clinic performed in order to drive up revenue. In keeping, Planned Parenthood headquarters recently issued a directive mandating that all of its affiliates provide abortions by 2013. ...
[T]he organization is seeking to do away with ... reporting sex abuse of minors. It has sued to overturn a child abuse reporting law applying to minors under 14 on the grounds that it violated a girl's "constitutional right to privacy." Planned Parenthood called the bill unnecessary given that its medical personnel are already obliged to report such matters and that filing additional reports would only "overload" the government. Planned Parenthood doesn't want to bother the government with protecting minors. ...
With the Continuing Resolution battle before us, we can, at very least, stop making taxpayers perpetuate a culture that puts profit margins before women's safety. Congress has and must seize the opportunity to stop directing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to recipients who deliberately deceive the public and violate federal law.
Next, Rose Mimms and Randall K. O'Bannon:
Planned Parenthood argues that maintaining its government funding will reduce the numbers of abortion. In just the past twelve years, government funding at Planned Parenthood has more than doubled, with the number of abortions following pretty much the same track. According to its latest Annual Report, Planned Parenthood received $363.2 million in government grants and contracts in 2008. Clinics run by Planned Parenthood performed 332,278 abortions in 2009, the highest total ever recorded, according to a recent factsheet. This is the 15th year in a row the number of abortions has risen at Planned Parenthood.Last but not least, Rep. Mike Pence. An excerpt:
Not surprisingly, the organization is putting even less emphasis on other "services" that would be considered alternatives to abortion. For example, the number of adoption referrals dropped from 2,405 in 2008 to just 977 for 2009. That's just over one referral for every clinic Planned Parenthood runs. As it stands, abortions outnumber adoption referrals at Planned Parenthood by a 340–1 margin. Women seeking prenatal care don't fare much better. According to Planned Parenthood’s own factsheet, just 7,021 Planned Parenthood clients received prenatal care in 2009—2,412 fewer than the previous year. Planned Parenthood's plans typically don't involve parenthood.
Despite efforts to suggest otherwise, the Pence Amendment [denying federal funds to Planned Parenthood] does not reduce funding for cancer screenings or eliminate one dime of funding for other important health services to women; the money that does not go to Planned Parenthood as a result of the Pence Amendment will go to other organizations that provide these services. If the Pence Amendment becomes law, thousands of women's health centers, clinics, and hospitals will still provide assistance to low-income families and women. The Pence Amendment would simply deny any and all federal funding to Planned Parenthood. ...
And for all the talk about how poor women would be harmed if taxpayers stopped subsidizing Big Abortion, it is telling to see how Planned Parenthood is spending its money. According to a June 2008 story in the Wall Street Journal, Planned Parenthood was flush with cash and using its profits to rebrand itself. The effort was designed to build the business by targeting wealthy consumers to complement their existing customer base of poor and minority populations. While taxpayers underwrite its operations, Planned Parenthood is building luxury health centers in shopping centers and malls, designed by marketing experts with touches such as hardwood floors, muted lighting, and large waiting rooms.
And Big Abortion routinely puts profits over women's health and safety. When women testify in favor of tightening safety standards at clinics, Planned Parenthood fights them. And despite the fact that 88 percent of Americans favor informed-consent laws that provide information about the risks of, and alternatives to, abortion for women, Planned Parenthood opposes these efforts and works to keep women in the dark. And tragically, in some instances, Planned Parenthood has refused to cooperate when law-enforcement officials have sought information to help girls they believed to be victims of child rape or molestation. ...
If supporters of Planned Parenthood wish to support the organization, they have every right to do so, but they should not expect everyone else to sign the check.
