Planned Parenthood: Making a Killing
January 08, 2013 - Tuesday
It's been 1,350 days since the Senate passed a budget, but the checks to Planned Parenthood keep flowing! While American companies suffer, business at Cecile Richards's group couldn't be better. According to the organization's latest annual report (FY 2011-12), it looks like the government helped Planned Parenthood to another record year. For the second time in as many years, Richards's "nonprofit" is celebrating more than a billion dollars in total revenue--and almost half of it came courtesy of U.S. taxpayers.
America's abortion provider managed to squeeze $542.4 million out of federal, state, and local governments last year--a $55 million bump from 2010. And judging by its $155 million profit, the organization hardly needed the money! Still, Congress insists on being Planned Parenthood's biggest benefactor--even if it means borrowing millions from China to pay for it. The government chipped in the lion's share of Richards's budget (45%) last year, and then raised taxes on us to keep the killing machine afloat. That should outrage every American, regardless of how they feel about abortion. The President complains about tax breaks for millionaires--while he supports welfare for billionaire organizations!
Fox News crunched the numbers and was shocked to find that government support for Planned Parenthood had jumped by 167% in the last 10 years alone. Of course, as more states aggressively step in to defund Planned Parenthood, the Left has been just as aggressive in filling the gap. They claim the money helps women, but based on this report, Planned Parenthood was too busy reelecting President Obama to help anyone! Cancer screenings (the theme of Richards's incessant election ads) dropped by a stunning 29% in 2011-12, and contraception services slumped 12%. Of course, the number of mammograms performed at Planned Parenthood stayed the same: zero.
While all of this "vital medial care" plunged, the group's primary moneymaker-abortion--raked in more than ever. It was one of the bloodiest years in the organization's history, as unborn casualties climbed to 333,964--enough to fill Yankee stadium six and a half times. The loss of life represented a 4,519 spike in abortions (almost twice the enrollment of Regent University). In just three years, Richards's group has claimed credit for 995,687 deaths through abortion--and that doesn't include the handful of women lost to botched abortions in the last 12 months. Perhaps the biggest misnomer about the organization is this: most people aren't planning parenthood when they visit these clinics; they're planning abortions. That was obvious from the tiny sliver of adoption referrals from Richards's network: 2,300--barely one half of one percent of the total abortions performed.
Meanwhile, the organization credited their success to the "generosity of several key donors and funders"--which, if Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) gets her way, will no longer include the U.S. Congress. Her bill, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act (H.R. 217), would pull the financial rug out of Planned Parenthood where its "family planning" dollars are concerned. If successful, the legislation she introduced Friday would zero out Title X money for any group that performs or refers for abortion. A nurse for more than 40 years, Rep. Black knows a little something about health care--and abortion, which hurts women and children, isn't it. "Planned Parenthood's blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars to fund its big abortion business is an attack on life and women's health," she said in a statement. "It must be stopped."
Now that the country has maxed out its credit cards, the House is preparing to do battle over the debt ceiling. If Richards's group alone is blowing a half-billion dollar hole in our debt, here's a suggestion for GOP leaders. Make defunding Planned Parenthood a condition of raising the federal borrowing limit. What do conservatives have to lose--except millions of future taxpayers if this madness doesn't stop?
Greece Lightening: FRC Asks Court to Ease Policy on Prayer
It looks like Chief Justice John Roberts has set a March wedding date for two of the biggest marriage cases of the century. The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it scheduled two days of oral arguments for the lawsuits that will ultimately decide the fate of marriage at the federal and state levels. Both Proposition 8, the California marriage amendment, and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) will have their days in court on March 26 and 27--similar timing to last year's ObamaCare hearing. Most legal experts, including our own Ken Klukowski, expect the justices to rule sometime in early summer as part of an explosive term that also features cases on affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act. The FRC team will do all it can to support the pro-marriage arguments.
In the meantime, FRC is hoping to make its mark in the high court on a different matter: public prayer. Monday afternoon, FRC filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court on behalf of 49 members of Congress in the case Town of Greece v. Galloway. Together, we support Alliance Defending Freedom's (ADF) argument that banning public prayer before town meetings is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. In the brief, Ken compared the prayer before this Nebraska council to the legislative prayers before the U.S. House of Representatives. "The Court looked approvingly to legislative prayer dating to the Founding, in the Continental Congress, Constitutional Convention, and First Congress that drafted the Establishment Clause." He found ample evidence that prayers similar to Greece's are offered in Congress today. "If the Second Circuit's rule were correct, then Congress would have been violating the Constitution for more than two centuries."
To read FRC's brief on behalf of more than four dozen Congressmen, click here. In the meantime, I encourage you to pray--publicly!--that the Supreme Court takes the case.
Welcoming Anna Higgins!
Although it's been rewarding to see FRC's Jeanne Monahan's promoted to President of the March for Life, she certainly left big shoes to fill! While Jeanne adapts to her new job, we are happy to introduce the new face of FRC's Center for Human Dignity, Anna Higgins. A graduate of Liberty University School of Law and experienced activist, Anna is a tremendous addition to the FRC team and will be a key asset in the movement to protect all life. Yesterday, Congressional Quarterly featured Anna as one of the people "in new roles shaping the debate in Washington." Click here to see what they have to say (page 11)!
** Don't miss the second day of our new live show, "Washington Watch with Tony Perkins," this afternoon from 5:00-6:00 p.m. (ET) on American Family Radio. My good friend and former Governor Mike Huckabee will be on the show to talk about a range of issues, including Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day. Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler will join me in studio for a discussion on how the Obama Justice Department is using strong-arm tactics to get confidential information on voters. Tomorrow, Dr. David Jeremiah and Senator Pat Toomey will drop by as we continue our kick-off to live daily radio! For more information, a station listing, or to listen, check out TonyPerkins.com.
*** With the March for Life just around the corner, several states are ramping up their efforts to protect innocent unborn life. Under Governor Bob McDonnell (R), Virginia has been at the forefront of that fight. Tomorrow, January 9, the Family Foundation of Virginia is holding a rally on the state capitol steps to draw attention to legislation that blocks taxpayer funding of abortion, protects the conscience rights of businesses, and bans sex- and race-selection abortion. FRC is cosponsoring the event in Richmond, along with other pro-life allies. If you're in the area, we encourage you to attend!