OPINION:
What highly protected business, friend to the Democratic Party and recipient of nearly $700 million annually in taxpayer dollars now faces review as the Trump administration opens long-closed books? Today, that’s an impressive list, but some sacred, political cows have escaped inspection longer than others. The business is abortion, and the holder of the largest franchise – Planned Parenthood – has some explaining to do.
President Trump’s political enemies, Big Abortion Pharma and Planned Parenthood et al., have long gone after Republicans with the same viciousness they employ against innocent life in the womb. It’s paid off as their aggressive election and lobbying operation has netted scores of Democratic political victories and serious cash, and their political friends haven’t been shy with our tax money.
President Trump, it’s time to defund your political enemies.
The federal business of abortion can be found in mandates, long-established programs like Medicaid, regulations, and bureaucratic bias in favor of abortion for potential sufferers rather than choosing to address real causes of human suffering. For example, a Make America Healthy Again approach to Life in the womb would transform the debate from pessimism in the face of an adverse fetal diagnosis (often wrong) to hope for a future. As a mother who has two children with a genetic condition, that matters to me. But I digress.
In a DOGE environment, Planned Parenthood must justify the “services” that required the compelled generosity of the American people, pulling in nearly $700M, 34% of its overall revenue, in 2023. But that’s not all. In 2022, the Family Research Council noted in an explosive report, “Since 1993, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, has reported carrying out 7,442,666 abortions, all while receiving over 10.35 billion in total taxpayer funding.” Are we sure all of our billions were spent correctly?
Frankly, abortion is federal as long as we pay for it. But Planned Parenthood has prioritized only one set of political friends – and they don’t have an R next to their name.
A new television ad now running on Fox News takes a look at the anti-Trump activism of the abortion lobbyists at Planned Parenthood as millions went to their allies in 2024, even as corporate abortion took center stage at the Democratic Party Convention.
It noted: “Even off the stage at Chicago’s United Center, the Democratic Party’s national gathering — its first since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — has been dominated by talk of reproductive rights …” For the Harris-Walz campaign, abortion was their only clear policy choice, and their abortion-supporting allies ponied up with the cash.
Specifically, Planned Parenthood’s ”advocacy and political organizations made a record-breaking $69.5 million investment during the 2024 election cycle” while also allegedly providing campaign space to the Harris-Walz campaign in Florida.
But the “service” provided was lacking. Not even the New York Times believes the nation’s number one abortion vendor is in good shape, as reported in their February shocking expose, “Botched Care and Tired Staff: Planned Parenthood in Crisis.”
After the release of disturbing undercover videos of Planned Parenthood haggling over the price of the broken bodies of aborted babies, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, while in the U.S. House, chaired the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood — the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives.
Evidence included financial misdeeds reported in the Select Committee’s final report issued Dec. 30, 2016 noted, “… based on 51 known external audits or other reviews of Planned Parenthood affiliates’ financial data and practices, and 61 federal audits of state family planning programs by HHS-OIG – Planned Parenthood affiliates have overbilled $132.4 million in Medicaid and other healthcare funding programs. These audit results are troubling, given their limitations in scope, detail, and timeframe; in fact, of 57 U.S. Planned Parenthood affiliates, only 19 have been audited.”
While our money pours into the abortion giant, patients are fleeing.
According to their recent 2023 annual report, Planned Parenthood saw barely more than 2 million patients, compared to the 32.5 million treated at federally funded and qualified health centers where they do everything and much more than a Planned Parenthood – minus the abortions.
Defunding and Debarring Planned Parenthood will not strip money and care away from women in need of health care. Instead, our government, like any employer with a health care plan, would tell those getting Medicaid coverage the list of preferred providers. That’s an everyday thing for most Americans.
Planned Parenthood knows they can be replaced, which is why they’ve gone to court.
A crucial case before the Supreme Court right now explores the question of whether a petulant Planned Parenthood has an absolute right to taxpayer funds. South Carolina is battling the abortion mega provider, arguing they can kick them off the public dole. This case has state and federal watchers engaged – who can we cut?
Let’s Do the Math: Wildly Democrat-only supporting, plus being bad at your job, plus being easily replaceable, equals women don’t need Planned Parenthood (and neither do Republicans).
To truly bring about President Trump’s vision of reducing federal engagement on abortion, we need to cut off funds to political agitators hooked on our tax money. It’s time to tell Planned Parenthood to go fund themselves.
• Kristan Hawkins is president of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action, with more than 1,400 groups on middle and high school, college and university, medical and law school campuses in all 50 states. Follow her @KristanHawkins or subscribe to her podcast, The Kristan Hawkins Show.
This post was originally published on here
