Planned Parenthood Exploits Zika Virus to Fundraise for Abortions

International   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Feb 10, 2016   |   10:45AM   |   Washington, DC

The International Planned Parenthood Federation has no scruples about using a crisis to raise money for its pro-abortion agenda.

On Monday evening, the abortion group’s Western Hemisphere region highlighted the Zika virus outbreak in South America in a fundraising appeal to help promote and legalize abortion on continent, according to Breitbart.

“As of 6 p.m. (ET) on Monday, IPPF/WHR was featuring a picture on its official webpage of a mosquito with the words, ‘Emergency: Zika virus is Spreading’ superimposed over the image and a link to page, titled ‘Zika Virus: Make Your Emergency Gift,’ that asks for preset donations of $50 to $500, with the option of giving any amount,” according to the report.

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The fundraising page makes it clear that the money will be used to push abortion in South America: “In a region where many women have limited or no access to birth control and 6 countries ban abortion under all circumstances, the stakes are high. Advocates and health providers are concerned women might turn to life-threatening back-alley abortion procedures out of desperation to avoid the devastating birth defects associated with the virus.”

On Tuesday, the region’s homepage also linked to several articles promoting abortion in direct relation to the Zika crisis.

Abortion activists have been quick to exploit the health crisis because of a possible link between the Zika virus and microcephaly, a neurological disorder where a baby’s head is significantly smaller and the brain is abnormally developed, according to the Mayo Clinic. Several South American countries have reported an alarming spike in the number of babies born with microcephaly in the past few months. The disorder is not typically fatal, but it can cause health problems throughout the child’s life.

In an eugenic-like push, abortion activists argue that South American countries should legalize abortion so that women infected with the virus can abort unborn babies who may have the disorder. One group, Women on Waves, even is offering to send dangerous chemical abortion drugs in the mail to women who think they may be infected with the virus.

Abortion activists’ goals in South America are extremely disturbing. Microcephaly is difficult to detect until later in pregnancy, which means either that abortion activists want to legalize late-term abortions or they want numerous early term babies to be aborted without actually knowing if they have the disorder. The situation also points to the fact that these abortion activists believe people with disabilities like microcephaly should be targeted for abortion – an idea that concerns many disability rights advocates, even some who support abortion.

However, there also is growing uncertainty about whether the virus and the microcephaly cases are connected. Thomas D. Williams recently wrote, “Though the Brazil Ministry of Health has registered an unusually high number of babies born with microcephaly, 96% of these cases occurred without the mothers having been infected with the Zika virus at all, which means that the cause must be sought elsewhere.”

According to Breitbart, the International Planned Parenthood Federation could very well be using American tax dollars to push its deadly, discriminatory agenda in South America. The group began receiving funding from the U.S. after President Barack Obama overturned the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits tax dollars from funding abortion overseas. The United Nations, which receives U.S. taxpayer money, also gives the abortion group money, the report states.

The abortion group’s 2014 financial statement reports that it spent almost $5 million on abortion-related expenses, which it describes as “activities to eliminate unsafe abortion, to ensure the universal recognition of a woman’s right to choose, and to have access to safe abortion.”

The World Health Organization has declared the virus outbreak an international health emergency. No vaccine or cure has been developed yet.

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