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7 Reasons Why Planned Parenthood Should Not Get Government Money

Abby Attia
Even with the public outcry against Planned Parenthood, there is opposition in Congress to ending the organization’s federal funding. Some lawmakers are insisting they need more facts before acting.

Heritage expert Sarah Torre gives all the facts Congress needs to know about Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood has become a billion-dollar organization on the backs of taxpayers. They earned $128 million in revenue with over $1.4 billion in net assets last year. In the same year, federal and state governments gave them over $528 million to fund their lucrative programs.

Planned Parenthood performs one in three abortions in the U.S. They reported performing 327,653 abortions last year. Former employees have even made allegations that there are mandatory “abortion quotas” each affiliate must meet.

Planned Parenthood emphasizes abortions instead of preventative care. They made only 1,880 adoption referrals and just 18,684 prenatal services last year. Even cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood have decreased 50 percent since 2004.

Planned Parenthood has been accused of financial fraud with taxpayer dollars. In 2013, an affiliate payed a settlement of over $4 million to Texas for Medicaid fraud. Similar investigations revealed over $8 million in possible fraud across nine states.

Planned Parenthood fights laws that protect women and children. They have opposed legislation that would protect infants born alive after failed abortions and tried to derail an anti-human trafficking bill because the legislation included a longstanding and widely-supported policy against taxpayer funding of abortion.

Planned Parenthood stands accused of jeopardizing the health and safety of women and girls. They have been accused by pro-life advocacy groups of abetting the sex trafficking of minor girls and at least four affiliates have been similarly accused of neglecting the health and safety of patients.

Women can receive wider range of care at other centers. In addition to roughly 1,200 federally qualified health clinics there are over 2,000 pregnancy centers that provide medical testing, prenatal care, ultrasounds and child-birth classes, among other services to women facing unplanned pregnancies.

Policymakers looking to put limited taxpayer funds to more efficient and effective use should redirect those dollars to centers and clinics that can provide more comprehensive care for women and which don’t provide abortions.