Planned Parenthood’s Abortion Priority Revealed Through Rejection of Title X Funding
Today, August 19, 2019, the Protect Life Rule, which is designed to re-establish the original bright-line separation between abortion and the use of Title X funding, is set to go into effect. Planned Parenthood receives approximately $60 million in federal Title X funding annually. In a recent letter to the U.S. 9thCircuit Court of Appeals, Planned Parenthood indicated that all Planned Parenthood grantees and sub-grantees will withdraw from the Title X program by close of business today.
This letter reveals that Planned Parenthood’s top priority is performing abortion, rather than preventing a pregnancy that may lead to an abortion. In its 2017-2018 Annual Report, Planned Parenthood revealed that it has over $2 billion in net assets, with $1.6 billion in income for its most recent completed fiscal year, and $244.8 million in excess of revenue over expenses. According to that same annual report, Planned Parenthood indicates it performed 332,757 abortions; however, Planned Parenthood conceals the income it makes from performing those abortions. Assuming that the prices shown in Planned Parenthood of Southern New England’s Cost Calculator are reflective of nationwide prices, Planned Parenthood would have received income between $216,292,050 on the low-end (an in-clinic abortion under 12 weeks without sedation) to $334,420,785 on the high-end (an in-clinic abortion between 16-18.6 weeks with sedation).
Notably, Planned Parenthood claims it uses Title X funds to provide low-income women wellness exams, “life-saving cervical and breast cancer screenings,” birth control, contraception education, and STI testing and treatment. Planned Parenthood’s willingness to sacrifice Title X funding for family planning so that it may continue to refer and advocate for abortion, and even collocate with abortion facilities, demonstrates that Planned Parenthood cares less about helping low-income women than it does about maintaining its lucrative abortion business.
