During my years as a Planned Parenthood center manager, I always heard the mantra that abortion should be, as Bill Clinton once said, “safe, legal, and rare.” But now, being on the other side of the abortion conversation, it’s easy to see that the organization’s focus was never about protecting women or preventing abortion. This is easily proven by Planned Parenthood’s most recent report and its choice to retaliate against the new Trump administration rule that will require insurers to bill abortion coverage separately.
Planned Parenthood’s annual report debunks their earlier public relations efforts to manipulate the numbers in their favor. They have often said that abortion comprises “only” 3% of their services performed. The report showed a record-high 345,672 abortions — an increase of nearly 4% from the previous year. This is occurring even as the number of abortions nationwide is in decline. It means that Planned Parenthood alone performs almost 40% of all abortions in the U.S.
To the false and misleading nature of its claims, add the fact that Planned Parenthood opposes all legal changes that would help make abortion more rare. Their former advocacy of “safe, legal, and rare” has given way to what they were genuinely championing all along: “free, on-demand, without apology.”
The focus, at all points, has been on money. According to its annual report, America’s leading abortion provider boasted a 9% increase in taxpayer funding for a total of $616.8 million — $1.7 million hard-earned tax dollars every single day. That means more than one-third of the abortion empire is funded courtesy of U.S. taxpayers. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood recently announced a plan to pour $45 million into the coffers of pro-abortion political candidates, all while maintaining non-profit tax status.
Even as its abortions are up, Planned Parenthood’s actual medical services are down — way down. In the past decade, the number of Pap tests it has administered has decreased by 72%. The number of breast exams has declined by 68%. The abortion giant takes pride in adoption referrals, which were up 34% last year. But even that piece of apparently good news is misleading — merely handing a client a brochure on adoption can count as a referral.
Despite the desperate worry about women losing access to mammograms, Planned Parenthood has never performed a mammogram — it can only provide referrals.
Abortion supporters often argue that women will be left without healthcare should Planned Parenthood completely fold. But by its own admission, the abortion giant is taking more and more government money to provide fewer and fewer real health services. Fortunately, there’s an alternative.
Federally Qualified Health Centers provide women with quality, comprehensive healthcare for their whole family, and FQHCs outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities 20 to 1. These health centers have professional healthcare providers and regular hours, with some clinics even providing specialized services such as dental care and translators. FQHCs do not offer abortions and are an excellent bargain for the taxpayers as well.
Planned Parenthood’s donor numbers crashed in 2019, falling by 400,000. That translates to a loss of $39.5 million. Its windfall of taxpayer funding should slow in 2020 as well. In August, the abortion giant chose to walk away from $60 million in Title X funding rather than comply with rules prohibiting program funding from paying for abortion. Coupled with the mass exit of so many supporters, the financial shortfall will be devastating to Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. The loss of these federal funds will have a trickle-down effect on every facility.
After boasting of “nearly 650” facilities on the 2015-2016 annual report, Planned Parenthood’s database indicates only 618 facilities now. That’s down from 938 Planned Parenthood facilities a quarter-century ago. Planned Parenthood’s struggles have led to the consolidation of nearly 200 affiliates (local or regional groupings of facilities) into just 56. That’s good news for babies.
And there’s more good news. Recent years have seen a boom in pregnancy help centers — loving and welcoming ministries offering every kind of help a mom could ever need. Many pro-life centers that started as small ministries have since expanded and now provide medical care (such as STI testing), diapers and other supplies, toys, child care, and even in some places job training, typically in a faith-based environment. Pregnancy resource centers now outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities, five to one. These facilities, importantly, put the lie to claims that pro-lifers stop caring about mothers and babies after they are born.
This battle for life is hard-fought. There have been stunning victories and heart-wrenching defeats. 2020 is poised to be a banner year, with the assault on life in a full frenzy. Yet Vice President Mike Pence summarized it best: “Life is winning.”
Sue Thayer is a former Planned Parenthood manager who now serves as the director of outreach with 40 Days for Life.
