Pro-life leaders call on Trump to defund Planned Parenthood

Washington D.C., Jan 31, 2019 / 00:13 am

Following the passing of a New York law legalizing abortion up to the point of birth, pro-life leaders are calling on U.S. President Donald Trump to act on his yet-unfulfilled campaign promise of defunding Planned Parenthood.  

"Since Congress will not lead, we are asking you to do so," the leaders said in their letter.

Signatories of the letter, which was sent on Monday, January 28, included Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List; Tom McClusky, president of March for Life Action; Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America; Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, and several others.

In the letter, the leaders reminded Trump that one of his campaign promises was: "defunding Planned Parenthood as long as they continue to perform abortions, and reallocating their funding to community health centers that provide comprehensive health care for women."

"This is a topic important to pro-life voters because we believe it is a true game changer to stopping Planned Parenthood from propping up the abortion industry," the leaders said in the letter.

"Because of congressional inaction, defunding remains one of your key promises that remains unfulfilled; however, there are unilateral avenues that your Administration can follow to separate taxpayer funds from the nation's largest abortion provider - in particular, Medicaid funds, which comprise 90 percent of Planned Parenthood's federal funding."

Planned Parenthood does not need taxpayer funding, they argued, because their revenues have hit record highs. They have also increased the number of abortions they perform, while the other services they provide, such as cancer screenings, have been in a decade-long decline.

"Defunding and redirecting federal funds to the thousands of other federally approved facilities that offer real medical care will dramatically improve healthcare for needy women," they said.

The move could also "energize your base as few issues will," they noted, as recent polls show that a "strong majority" of voters in the United States are in favor of pulling taxpayer funding from abortion.

In the letter, the leaders also thanked Trump for what he has done while in office to advance the pro-life cause, including his welcome message to the March for Life, his recent letter to the Speaker of the House asking for the protection of current pro-life policies, his selection of 51 pro-life judicial nominees, and his support of the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2019."

Additionally, the leaders asked Trump for a meeting to discuss ways to circumvent the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the House of Representatives, which currently has a pro-abortion majority, in order to defund Planned Parenthood.

"You are the one person in America who can stop the taxpayers' forced complicity in the slaughtering of over 320,000 innocent children each year."