Planned Parenthood abortion numbers rise, other services fall

Washington D.C., Jan 13, 2013 / 16:01 pm

A Planned Parenthood report showing an increase in abortions and decrease in other health services is leading to questions over the federal funding that the organization receives.

"While government subsidies to Planned Parenthood have reached an all time high," Marjoirie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List said in a Jan. 7 statement, "so too has the number of lives ended by this profit-driven abortion business."

"Destroying nearly one million children in three years is not health care and does not reflect a concern for vulnerable women and girls," she added. "As Planned Parenthood's funding goes up, abortions increase and real health services for women go down."

The largest provider of abortions in the U.S., Planned Parenthood faced staunch opposition in 2012, with several states working to limit its funding and numerous lawsuits launched across the country on charges of fraud, extortion and failure to report malpractice.

The organization recently released its 2011-2012 annual report, which showed a rise in the number of abortions performed for the first time in two decades, as well as a record amount of government funding.

The report indicated that Planned Parenthood performed a record-high 333,964 abortions during 2011.

An analysis by the Susan B. Anthony List, which works to support pro-life lawmakers, asserts that, based on this report, up to 92 percent of Planned Parenthood's pregnant clients received abortions.

In contrast, the analysis observed, prenatal care patients accounted for only seven percent, and adoption referrals were less than one percent.

"For every adoption referral, Planned Parenthood performed 145 abortions," it said.

This rise in abortions was coupled with a continued decrease in non-abortive services. Since 2009, the total number of contraceptive services has dropped by 12 percent, and cancer screening and prevention services have dropped by 29 percent.

This dip in "preventative services" was not for lack of funding, as the organization reported a record $542 million in government grants, contracts, and Medicaid reimbursements, totaling 45.2 percent of the group's annual revenue.

"Planned Parenthood has spent much of the last few years demanding that taxpayers add millions more to their coffers, citing their non-profit status and so-called focus on women's health," stated Dannenfelser. "What have we received for our money?"

Furthermore, observed Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, Planned Parenthood is now "requiring every affiliate to operate at least one clinic that performs abortions."

"Planned Parenthood's story in 2013 reveals an abortion-centered business model," she said. "The nation's largest abortion provider continues to make ever-more money from the suffering of women and girls as the leader of Big Abortion."

This news, combined with the ongoing controversies surrounding the organization, has led to legislative pushes to end federal funding of the abortion provider.

In a Jan. 8 press release, Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) asserted that "Planned Parenthood's blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars to fund its big abortion business is an attack on life and women's health."

On Jan. 4, Black helped to re-introduce legislation to prohibit abortion providers from receiving federal funds. As a nurse for more than 40 years, she said that she is fully dedicated to protecting life and access to women's health services.

"It is long past time for Congress to respect the will of the American people and stop taxpayer funded abortions – a heinous abuse of the law and destruction of innocent life," she emphasized.