Government Report Supports Defunding of Planned Parenthood

The U.S. government just released its own accounting of, among other things, the $1.3 billion federal taxpayer dollars allocated to Planned Parenthood from 2013–2015. This U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report confirms Planned Parenthood received enough federal funds to effectively pay for every abortion they performed in the U.S. from 2013–2015, and that millions in federal funds allocated to Planned Parenthood’s international affiliate, International Planned Parenthood Federation, were directly available to fund abortions abroad. Additionally, federal funds may have aided in the illegal sale of fetal tissue in California.

The GAO report confirms what we have been saying all along: It is time to hold Planned Parenthood and its allies accountable and end their federal funding. Providing for women’s healthcare is vitally important, but Planned Parenthood is not the only option; there are better alternatives that will use these dollars for actual women’s healthcare rather than abortions. The evidence is all right there in black and white.

Fast Facts (From 2013–2015):

• Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) received nearly $1.3 billion in federal tax dollars.
• PPFA performed nearly 1 million abortions.
• $544 million, over 40 percent of all the money PPFA received, went to four PPFA affiliates that were referred to the Justice Department for allegations of illegally selling fetal tissue.
• International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Marie Stopes International (MIS) expended over $121 million in federal funds. It is all but certain that much of this money directly funded abortions abroad—as at the time there was no federal limitation on direct taxpayer funding for abortions internationally.
• International Planned Parenthood Federation provided more than 11 million abortion-related services worldwide, including 2,816,382 abortions.
• MSI provided more than 9 million abortion related services worldwide, totaling around 19% of all abortions in every country where they operated.
• Federal Qualified Health Centers provide an abortion-free alternative for community and women’s healthcare.
• In 2015 alone, these Federal Qualified Health Centers provided nearly 100 million clinical visits to more than 25 million individuals, including 14.5 million women. This figure amounts to ten times the healthcare services to more than ten times the number of individuals and five times the number of women than Planned Parenthood.

You can read our full analysis of this GAO report here.

At the ACLJ, we have defended Crisis Pregnancy Centers as a pro-life alternative to Planned Parenthood that actually cares about women’s health. We have fought for decades to expose and defund Planned Parenthood, and we won’t give up. This latest GAO report vindicates our reporting and our position: it is time to fund a better healthcare safety net for our country and our families. {eoa}

For the original article, visit aclj.org.