By Connor Semelsberger, FRC's Legislative Assistant
For once, Planned Parenthood is being honest about its number-one mission: abortion. And thanks to the organization's latest annual report, Americans are seeing just how profitable that mission has been.
In the 2018-2019 fiscal year, Planned Parenthood destroyed the lives of 345,672 unborn children -- 13,000 more than the year before. All of this while pap tests, well-women exams, and other health services dropped. There are lots of factors that probably led to this spike in abortions, but the push to increase chemical abortions certainly stands out. Last year, Planned Parenthood published a study on chemical abortion in an attempt to ease federal restrictions on the drugs -- hoping to make them more accessible for women. They've also expanded telemedicine abortions to three new states bringing the total to 16.
Planned Parenthood's emphasis on abortion is nothing new, but what is surprising in this year's report is that the group's total government funding (including federal, state, and local funds) actually increased by $52 million to $616.8 million in 2018-2019. Planned Parenthood did pull out of the Title X family planning program in response to President Trump's Protect Life Rule -- losing upwards of $50 million in federal grants in the process. But in at least seven states, leaders picked up the tab, keeping taxpayers in those states on the financial hook. So even when one source of government funding is cut off, Planned Parenthood finds a way to keep governments involved to legitimize their horrific practices.
Despite this increase in government funding, one thing from the report is clear: pro-life advocates are making progress, and Planned Parenthood knows it -- even conceding that they are "preparing for a future where abortion is no longer a guaranteed right." In response, they're shifting their strategy away from being a leading women's health provider to "fiercely fighting" for abortion rights. Despite any abortion restrictions in their way, Planned Parenthood's new goal is to directly reach patients as early and often as possible through their PP Direct App, telemedicine abortions, and ROO, their sexual health chatbot, to give "non-judgmental, science-based information to teens." They have even expanded their focus beyond just abortion to all socially liberal causes including teaching gender identity to preschool kids.
As this year's annual report shows, Planned Parenthood is about more abortions and less health care, more judicial activism and less oversight. We've always known that Planned Parenthood believes infants in the womb are disposable, but now it's clear that once a child is born, Planned Parenthood will use them at their disposal to push an expanded liberal agenda.
