After a shocking video turned the nation’s attention to the fact that the Planned Parenthood abortion business sells the body parts of aborted babies, a leading pro-life member of Congress says the time is now to de-fund Planned Parenthood. Speaker John Boehner has already indicated the House will investigate the abortion giant.
Representative Diane Black, a Tennessee Republican and a nurse for more than 40 years, told LifeNews that the shocking video proveis yet another reason to ensure the Planned Parenthood abortion company does not receive taxpayer dollars.
“The fact that Planned Parenthood performs upwards of 327,000 abortions a year is heartbreaking and barbaric enough on its own. The news that its employees engaged in the harvesting of aborted babies’ body parts is almost too much to bear and is incredibly revealing as to the true nature of the big abortion industry,” Black said.
SIGN THE PETITION! Congress Must De-Fund Planned Parenthood Immediately
She continued: “Planned Parenthood’s disregard for innocent human life is even worse than we imagined. As a nurse for more than 40 years, I am passionately pro-life but this latest discovery has taken us beyond the pro-life versus pro-abortion debate. This is about basic decency and humanity. Anyone who can watch this video and continue to justify taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood is simply defending the indefensible. ”
“I support the calls for a Congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood, but that is not enough,” Black told LifeNews. “Now that we are armed with further proof of this agency’s atrocities, Congress must act immediately to pass my legislation – The Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act – so that we can cut off its largest stream of federal funding without delay. I look forward to making the case to House leadership for this bill’s immediate consideration.”
“Planned Parenthood and organizations like it that profit off the destruction of innocent life do not deserve one more dime from American taxpayers. I have been proud to lead the charge against the funding of the big-abortion industry since my first days as a state legislator, and I am honored to continue this fight by reintroducing the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act. This legislation would simply clarify the original intent and spirit of the law to ensure that Title X federal funded grants will no longer be awarded to ‘health care’ providers that fail to protect life by providing abortions,” Black said.
House Republicans previously approved bills to de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
In 2011, House members voted 241-185 for a resolution that would prohibit the Planned Parenthood abortion business from qualifying for family planning funds. The vote saw almost all Republicans supporting de-funding while Democrats generally opposed it. That was the second vote taken to de-fund the abortion giant. An earlier vote in 2011 saw the House de-funded Planned Parenthood on a 240-185 margin.
Last year, Planned Parenthood Federation of America rleased its 2013-2014 Annual Report.The report indicates Planned Parenthood did 327,653 abortions in 2013, an increase over the 327,166 abortions it did in 2012.
While it remains America’s biggest abortion corporation, the “nonprofit” continued to make money — bringing in $305.4 million last year and $305.3 million this year. Planned Parenthood continued to receive over a half-billion dollars in taxpayer money, as it took in $540 million in 2012 and $528 million in 2013.
Black told LifeNews in a statement: While Planned Parenthood and its counterparts like to repeat the company line that federal dollars do not directly fund abortions, commonsense tells us differently. According to Planned Parenthood’s own annual report, the organization performed 327, 653 abortions in 2013 alone – all the while receiving more than $528 million in funding from Uncle Sam. The sad truth is they are not alone. Similar organizations continue to threaten the lives of the unborn while cashing in on our tax dollars. My legislation will stop this shameful practice in its tracks.”
Some other takeaways from Planned Parenthood’s own figures:
- In 2013, abortions made up 94% of Planned Parenthood’s pregnancy services.
- For every adoption referral, Planned Parenthood performed 174 abortions.
- While abortions rose, Planned Parenthood adoption referrals dropped 14% in one year, and prenatal care services dropped 4%.
- Planned Parenthood’s cancer prevention services are down 17% over one year, and contraceptive services dropped by 4%.
- During fiscal year 2013-2014, Planned Parenthood received more than $528 million in taxpayer funding, or more than $1.4 million per day, in the form of government grants, contracts, and Medicaid reimbursements.
- Taxpayer funding accounts for 41% of Planned Parenthood’s overall revenue.
- Planned Parenthood reported more than $127 million in excess revenue, and more than $1.4 billion in net assets.
