Pro-Life Groups Seek Calls on Planned Parenthood, Obamacare Vote

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 13, 2011   |   10:39AM   |   Washington, DC

Leading pro-life organizations are working furiously to generate as many calls and emails as possible to members of the House and Senate ahead of expected votes on Planned Parenthood funding and Obamacare.

The votes are the result of the legislative agreement pro-life Speaker John Boehner forced Democrats to accept in order to resolve the budget impasse that threatened to shut down the federal government. Members of the House and Senate will vote on the governmental funding bill that contains a provision reinstating the ban on taxpayer funding of abortions in the District of Columbia. They will also vote on two enrolling resolutions that revoke taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business and cutting off funding for Obamacare, which presents abortion and rationing concerns.

The National Right to Life Committee sent members of Congress a letter urging supportive votes on both resolutions, saying they “would do much to diminish threats to innocent human life.”

“Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA)  is the nation’s largest abortion provider, reporting 332,278 abortions in 2009,” the letter said. “It appears that abortion accounts for roughly one-third of the aggregate income generated by PPFA-affiliated clinics.  According to press reports, PPFA has recently mandated that all of its regional affiliates must provide abortions by the end of 2013.  Recent media reports regarding abuses associated with PPFA-affiliated clinics in multiple states provide additional justifications for the resolution.”

NRLC officials also said the organization would score votes on de-funding Obamacare because it “contains many provisions that violate right-to-life principles” — including the rationing of health care:

Since its inception, the pro-life movement has been as concerned with protecting the lives of older people and people with disabilities from euthanasia, including the involuntary denial of treatment, food, and fluids necessary to prevent death, as it has been dedicated to protecting unborn children from abortion.  For this reason, we are strongly opposed to government-imposed rationing of lifesaving medical treatment.  The PPACA contains multiple provisions that will, if fully implemented, result in government-imposed rationing of lifesaving medical care.  Among the most dangerous:  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be empowered to impose so-called “quality” and “efficiency” measures on health care providers, based on recommendations by the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which is directed to force private health care spending below the rate of medical inflation.  In many cases treatment that a doctor and patient deem needed or advisable to save that patient’s life or preserve or improve the patient’s health but which runs afoul of the imposed standards will be denied, even if the patient wants to pay for it.

NRLC also says Obamacare “includes multiple provisions authorizing funding of abortion and funding of health plans that cover abortion.”

Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, has also been urging pro-life advocates to turn out calls and emails for the resolutions.

“For over three decades Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion company, has received billions in taxpayer funds. Despite being a billion-dollar-a-year corporation, Planned Parenthood annually receives $363,200,000 — 33 percent of its income — from “government grants and contracts,” that is, from taxpayer dollars,” he said. “With this money, Planned Parenthood claims it performs “benevolent services.” However 97.6 percent of the “services” they provided for pregnant women in 2009 ended in the abortion of the womens’ children, and only 2.4 percent involved prenatal care or adoption referral. Income from abortions constitutes 37 percent of their total profit.”

“The abortion giant performed fewer than 20,000 other services in its last reporting year — including zero mammograms. All while performing 332,278 abortions. Suddenly, the $363,200,000 a year for “reproductive health care” doesn’t seem like such a bargain for taxpayers, does it?” Perkins continued.

“During these fiscally troubled times, taxpayers should not be subsidizing organizations that perform abortions — especially when they have demonstrated they do not need it. The nonprofit organization had income over expenses of $85,000,000 in 2008, and $63,400,000 in 2009. It reports some offsetting investment losses — but welcome to the club. Its annual budget today exceeds $1 billion. The money would be better served going to Title X recipients who do not have abortion as their central product,” Perkins said.

ACTION: Contact members of the House at https://www.house.gov and members of the Senate at https://www.senate.gov