Planned Parenthood Does Not Deserve America’s Support

Taxpayers should not be subjected to supporting an organization that regularly claims innocent lives.

By Bailey La Sage (blasage@wisc.edu)

Planned Parenthood’s abortion services put women and children at risk every day. This all while they vie for power and influence among Democratic legislators who continue to line their pockets.

In its 2016-17 fiscal year alone, Planned Parenthood received about a half billion dollars, or 36 percent of its total revenue, to run its operations through donors and grants. When you add in the money from the federal government given to them, it becomes a billion-dollar business operating under the façade of a women’s health facility. 

While federal money, mainly from Medicaid, cannot fund abortion services because of the Hyde Amendment, it is contrary to everything this country stands for that taxpayers are forced to fund an organization as reprehensible as Planned Parenthood.

The Hyde Amendment also does little to prohibit taxpayer dollars from funding abortions. Chris Conover, a scholar at Duke University, estimates 24 percent of abortions are taxpayer funded. Medicaid does allowgovernment money to fund abortions in restricted cases.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood spends millions lobbying officials to keep their funding instead of putting their money to use helping women. Just last week, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund announced its “biggest-ever push to try to top the balance of Congress and in key states.” Wisconsin even made the list of states that will be targeted with a budget expected to exceed $20 million dollars.

Although it may boast about other services offered, Planned Parenthood provided less STI diagnoses than abortions as well as less pap smears than abortions in its clinics.

To make matters worse, the organization has come under fire for regarding certain cases related to sexual abuse. In a summary of their failings, the Alliance for Defending Freedom writes, “Planned Parenthood has been directly sued for failure to report sexual abuse or to notify parents of minor children seeking abortions.”

Perhaps Planned Parenthood needs to focus more on women’s health and less on money and political clout.

Thankfully, there are still organizations in this country that will fight for not only life but for the dignity of women while providing health services. In Madison, organizations like the Women’s Care Center provide the same cost-free services as Planned Parenthood, aside from abortion. Women’s health can be protected and served by taxpayers while not funding this organization.

Planned Parenthood is a disgrace to women’s healthcare as it disregards the state of women in its pursuit for financial gain and political influence. 

This article was also published in The Badger Herald.