Federal probe of abortion clinic funding draws praise

Washington D.C., Aug 6, 2013 / 16:12 pm

Pro-life lawmakers issued statements supporting a government decision to investigate the federal funding of Planned Parenthood and other organizations that perform abortions.

"The federal government providing funding to abortion providers is a serious problem in our nation," said Rep. Diane Black (R- Tenn.) in an August 5 statement.

She said that she is pleased with the Government Accountability Office's decision to investigate the use of taxpayer funds by abortion groups.

The independent study of how much and for what purpose these dollars are allocated to all abortion providers is necessary for Congress to ensure accountability and oversight, she stressed.

Earlier this year, more than 50 members of Congress asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate how Planned Parenthood and other organizations that promote or perform abortions use federal funds.

Black has also sponsored the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which would prevent federal funds from being used to fund organizations that perform abortions.

Planned Parenthood's yearly reports record more than $1.2 billion in net assets to the IRS for the 2011 fiscal year, and $87.4 million in excess revenue. However, the organization still received $542 million in federal funds in 2011-2012 from government grants, contracts, and Medicaid reimbursements.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood performed more than 300,000 abortions in 2012, and over 1 million since 2010.

Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) explained that this trend is troubling because federal tax money is "legally prohibited from being used for abortions."

"Under the U.S. constitution, the Obama Administration has a duty to enforce these laws. And under that same constitution, Congress has a duty to ensure that the executive branch follows the law of the land," he emphasized.

"Planned Parenthood and other organizations that provide abortions clearly benefit from Uncle Sam," Senator David Vitter commented, "but there's no accounting to prove how they actually use that money. This GAO report would shine a light on how our tax dollars are being spent."

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) added that he is "pleased that the GAO will be investigating how much taxpayer money the abortion industry is receiving."

"Hopefully this will help us finally put an end U.S. taxpayer support, funding and complicity with this violence against children," he said.

Black agreed, emphasizing that she is looking forward "to reviewing the results and ultimately, mobilizing the support needed to stop federal funding of abortion providers once and for all."