Democrats for Life: Defund Planned Parenthood

Democrats For Life of America (DFLA) urges Congress to reallocate federal funding for women’s health services from Planned Parenthood to Community Health Centers (CHCs), which are more accessible and that do more expansive preventative care, including mammograms. Planned Parenthood, a profitable $1.2 billion corporation, is under investigation for selling body parts, including hearts, lungs and livers, of aborted children. “Whether or not Planned Parenthood is engaging in an illegal selling of body parts, the videos highlight what Americans have too long been asked to ignore – the humanity of the unborn and that abortion ends a life,” said Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats For Life of America. “The videos suggest that the procedure can be or is modified to accommodate, not the medical needs of the woman, but the ability to harvest the unborn child’s organs. It is time to recognized the life in the womb and provide more support and more options to pregnant women.” Two videos have been released showing a Planned Parenthood Executive discussing selling, or “donating for a fee” human body parts from aborted fetuses. In both videos, the Planned Parenthood representative discussed changing the kind of abortion procedure they do to “preserve the specimen” or prevent crushing the organs, such as the liver or heart. The process puts the opportunity for revenue over women’s health. Although Planned Parenthood denies selling body parts for profit, the questions and legality surrounding this practice are continuing to escalate. The very fact that organs can be harvested belies the myth that abortions are performed on “blobs of tissue.” “Currently we are providing federal dollars to an organization that is in a position to influence women to choose abortion and then the organization can profit from her decision,” said Day. “Most Americans are opposed to taxpayer funding of abortion and decades-old law supports that notion. There needs to be a complete separation between an organization that counsels women seeking abortion from an organization that harvests the organs. This practice invites deception and corruption.” The potential for abuse with counseling a patient to abort and then selling parts for profit has been a concern for decades. There was a moratorium on fetal tissue research in the 1980s over concern that the tissue was harvested from abortion. Eight states and the U.S. Congress are now investigating Planned Parenthood for wrong doing. “Supporters of Planned Parenthood have expressed concern that women will not have access to medical care. We share that concern which is why we are calling on Congress to reallocate the funding to Community Health Centers,” said Day. “There are 9,000 Community Health Center sites located in almost every single Congressional District. They vastly outnumber the 700 Planned Parenthood facilities and provide fuller services for families. We want to ensure that women still have access to the services and support they need.” The CHCs provide more complete health services than Planned Parenthood, including mammograms. They do not perform abortions and serve over 23 million individuals regardless of ability to pay. Women in rural areas, in particular, are more likely to have access to a Community Health Center given they target communities in need. Planned Parenthood facilities tend to locate near high-populated cities like Los Angeles and Chicago.