At the center of the debate over abortion, there is a battle over the legitimacy and public funding of Planned Parenthood, an organization that performs more abortions than any other group — about one every two minutes.
The battle over Planned Parenthood is a proxy for the fight over abortion and the culture wars generally. For that reason, voters look for every presidential candidate to tell them where they stand and whether they think taxpayers should continue to fund it.
Unsurprisingly, Hillary Clinton has offered full-throated support for the abortion giant, and in turn has received the Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s first-ever primary endorsement. Just last week, Planned Parenthood launched a seven-figure ad campaign in primary states supporting Clinton.
Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina both regularly denounced the organization during the Republican debates, and Gov. John Kasich recently signed a bill taking tax money away from it in Ohio.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump defends it.
At a recent GOP debate, he said that as president he would sign legislation to stanch the flow of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars it gets each year. But he also praised the good things the organization claims to do for “millions and millions of women.” Then at a press conference following Super Tuesday, Trump said, “Look, Planned Parenthood has done very good work for many, many — for millions of women.” He said that his support for Planned Parenthood stems from the fact that he’s “a common-sense conservative.”
Planned Parenthood’s advocates insist it performs vital health services for women. To be sure, its 700 centers nationwide do test women for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and it also offers some health care services for mothers and babies.
But its reason for existing is to carry out abortions. Its abortion business accounts for an increasing portion of its budget. Planned Parenthood does 324,000 abortions a year, close to a third of all the abortions in America. By one estimate, Planned Parenthood has done more than 7 million abortions since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, equivalent to the population of Washington state. It kills unborn human life on an industrial scale. “Life begins at conception,” as the old bumper sticker said, “and ends at Planned Parenthood.”
The conceit surrounding Planned Parenthood’s non-abortion services is that they make the group itself vital. This is a canard. There are thousands of other health providers that perform routine and life-sustaining services but do not also offer to end young lives. In much of the legislation being considered at the state and federal levels, including the law signed by Kasich, the money saved from Planned Parenthood would go to these alternative, and more legitimate, health care providers.
Founded a century ago on the eugenic notions of Margaret Sanger, the organization has often found itself mired in controversy. Last year, a series of undercover videos showed Planned Parenthood employees discussing the sale of fetal body parts, a business that is morally repellant if not illegal. It was just the latest scandal to rock the group, and even Hillary said she found the videos “disturbing” before quickly backtracking.
As other culture war issues fade, abortion is becoming a more important factor to voters. According to a recent Gallup poll, 21 percent said they vote only for candidates who share their view on abortion. Republicans should note that people who oppose abortion are 20 percent more likely than abortion supporters to be single issue voters.
It’s an open question whether Planned Parenthood is a criminal enterprise. But there’s no question that American taxpayers should not be forced to fund it.
