Planned Parenthood Spending $50 Million Trying to Take Over Congress

National   |   Alison Centofante   |   Oct 30, 2018   |   10:08AM   |   Washington, DC

Today, Live Action released a report detailing how millions of dollars in taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood are allowing it to turn around and spend millions of dollars in the 2018 midterms to elect pro-abortion politicians who will fight against abortion industry regulations and keep the taxpayer funding flowing.

Taxpayer funding frees up donors to direct their money to Planned Parenthood’s political agenda rather than to fund what nominal health services Planned Parenthood itself provides.

The report also shows that over time, despite the fact that Planned Parenthood is providing fewer services for fewer clients at fewer facilities, it has received ever increasing amounts of taxpayer funding, and its political arms are spending record amounts of money on elections.

Planned Parenthood’s political arms are poised to spend $20 million on their own and another $30 million in a joint effort with three other groups in the midterms on both state and federal offices. In addition to its midterm spending, according to its latest annual report, Planned Parenthood and its political arms were able to spend $160 million last year for “public policy” and “movement building” and to “promote health equity” and “engage communities” as well as spend another $85 million on fundraising.

SIGN THE PETITION! Congress Must De-Fund Planned Parenthood Immediately

Statement from Lila Rose:

“Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion corporation and a multimillion-dollar political machine. Millions of dollars in taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood allow it to turn around and spend millions of dollars supporting the 2018 midterm campaigns of the politicians who will keep that funding flowing.

“While Planned Parenthood and its political arms are separate on paper, because taxpayers are forced to give the abortion chain over $500 million a year, donors are freed up to direct their money to Planned Parenthood’s political agenda rather than to fund what nominal health services Planned Parenthood itself provides.

“Getting a half billion dollars a year from taxpayers allows the abortion chain’s donors to divert their money to political efforts to defeat pro-life politicians and to lobby for taxpayer funding of abortions, increases in federal funding, and the repeal of all abortion regulations. It’s the taxpayers who end up paying for Planned Parenthood’s radical pro-abortion agenda — an agenda that poll after poll shows most Americans are against. Planned Parenthood is weaponizing the taxpayers’ own money against them.

“The corrupt bargain between Planned Parenthood and pro-abortion politicians must end. It’s paid for by taxpayers and with the lives of over 320,000 preborn children every year. Congress and the president must fulfill their promise to defund Planned Parenthood of all taxpayer dollars. American taxpayers should not be in the abortion business, nor should they be subsidizing campaign contributions to any politician to keep them in office.”

At the same time Planned Parenthood pushes for more taxpayer dollars, many of Planned Parenthood’s services and its clients are declining. In the last 10 years of Planned Parenthood’s annual reporting (2006-2016),

  • clients have decreased 23 percent (3.1 million in 2006 vs. 2.4 million in 2016);

  • it closed 260 facilities (860 facilities in 2006 vs. 600 facilities in 2016);

  • breast exams have decreased by 62 percent;

  • cervical cancer screenings have decreased by 74 percent; and

  • contraception services have decreased by 32 percent.

Yet while many services have decreased over the last 10 years, Planned Parenthood’s abortion numbers are up by 11 percent (to over 320,000 babies each year) and taxpayer funding has skyrocketed from $336 million in 2006 to $543 million a year in 2016.

The full report is here: https://www.liveaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/PP-election-report-2018.pdf

(Numbers above are from Planned Parenthood’s 2016-2017 annual report2006-2007 annual report, and 2006-2007 services numbers updated in the 2007-2008 annual report.)