Florida County’s Decision to Fund Planned Parenthood Legitimatizes Abortions 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 8, 2004
Venice, FL (LifeNews.com) — A Florida county’s decision to give thousands of dollars of taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood, despite opposition from pro-life residents, has the community up in arms. Some say the decision legitimatizes abortion and the nation’s largest abortion business.
Sarasota County commissioners on Tuesday allocated almost $7.9 million in grant funds to groups that provide health services to the community.
A grant renewal of $26,750 to Planned Parenthood of Southwest Florida had its detractors, the Venice Gondiler newspaper reported.
"It undermines family values and teaches abortion," Venice resident Kim Wilkinson, according to the paper. "These people aren’t teaching our students, they’re building their business."
But, Planned Parenthood and the county commissioners said the money would be used for sex education programs.
Residents were also disappointed that the county commission held the meeting for public opinion on the grants during the daytime, when it would be difficult for people to get off work to attend and voice their dissent.
As a result, only seven people showed up to voice their opposition to using their tax money to fund the abortion business.
The commission unanimously approved the grant.
In an opinion column in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune today, Rod Thompson blasted the county government agency for the decision.
"Planned Parenthood’s activities … prompt healthy skepticism because of the group’s status as the leading abortion provider in the country and its often extreme stances on abortion, i.e., opposing any attempts to restrict partial birth abortion," Thompson wrote.
Thompson said the grant legitimatizes Planned Parenthood and abortion.
"After years of battle, Planned Parenthood has finally got what it wanted from local governments — not money so much each year as the imprimatur of legitimacy right there alongside such bulwarks as the Salvation Army and United Way," Thompson explained.
Thompson blasted the commissioners for ignoring the residents who spoke in opposition.
"Not one commissioner mounted one syllable’s worth of defense for giving the group $26,750 worth of taxpayer money," Thompson wrote. "They ignored the entire debate, as if they were disinterested observers."
ACTION: Contact the Sarasota County Commission at (941) 861-5000 or fax a letter to (941) 861-5987. Click here to find names and emails of the commissioners.
Related web sites:
Sarasota County Commission – https://www.co.sarasota.fl.us
