President Donald Trump’s proposed budget is not making abortion advocates happy today as it specifically excludes the Planned Parenthood abortion business from all programs run by the Department of Health and Human Services. This is the first time a president’s budget has specifically defunded the Planned Parenthood abortion company in this way.
In fact, the language goes beyond legislation pending in the Senate that would defund Planned Parenthood under the Medicaid program. As The pro-abortion Huffington Post reports, President Trump’s budget would prohibit the Planned Parenthood abortion corporation from participating in any federal health program — including cancer screening programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control, prevention of the Zika virus, HIV and AIDS testing, as well as programs to prevent sexual assault.
The decision by the Trump Administration to exclude the nation’s biggest abortion company makes sense because abortion is the main component of what it does and other health organizations provide the same or similar healthcare services without also killing unborn children in abortions and injuring women.
“This is the worst budget for women and women’s health in a generation,” said Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in a statement Monday. “It guts programs designed to help women and their families put food on the table, get the medical care they need, and make ends meet. Gimmicks and misdirection cannot cover up a deadly agenda that would hurt women and prevent access to basic health care in the U.S. and across the globe.”
Planned Parenthood receives roughly half a billion dollars a year from the government…
SIGN THE PETITION! Congress Must De-Fund Planned Parenthood Immediately
In comments to LifeNews.com, the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) praised the Trump administration’s proposed budget.
“From day one, President Trump has worked to keep his pro-life promises, including stopping taxpayers from being forced to fund abortion and abortion businesses. We’re encouraged to see that the budget released today prevents federal funds from going to the nation’s largest abortion chain, Planned Parenthood,” said SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Taxpayers should not have to prop up Planned Parenthood’s failing, abortion-centered business model.”
She added: “Just last week Planned Parenthood announced they will close ten of their facilities in four states, even before any portion of their half billion dollars in taxpayer funding is redirected to local community health centers. Community health centers and rural health centers outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities by an average of 20 to one nationally and provide the preventative care that Planned Parenthood claims to provide but do not perform abortion. Women will be better served by the new growth of comprehensive health care alternatives.”
The proposal to redirect taxpayer funding from Planned Parenthood would result in a $422 million increase in federal funding for community health care centers, which enjoy strong bipartisan support, avoid provision of abortion, and now serve nearly 24.3 million people (and climbing) in medically underserved communities across the United States. At the same time, women receiving Medicaid can continue to use their eligibility at centers where they can also obtain mammograms, mental health services, and a variety of other primary care services.