'DEFUND 250': Employees allege internal corruption at Planned Parenthood

On July 4, 2026, America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of her founding — but unless Congress votes to continue banning federal Medicaid dollars from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, July 4 will also be the day that America's most prolific killer of preborn children will see those taxpayer dollars once again pouring into its bank accounts.

Planned Parenthood deserves to be permanently defunded — and Live Action News' series, 'DEFUND 250,' plans to remind the public of many reasons why.

In this installment of our series, we will see how Planned Parenthood staffers have continued for years to expose the organization's priorities and abuses, yet the organization still receives taxpayer dollars.

Key Takeaways:

• Planned Parenthood's own staff has reported multiple instances of financial and personnel mismanagement, abuse, retaliation, pregnancy and racial discrimination, outright racism, and more.

• Planned Parenthood staffers have said Planned Parenthood's financial woes have never simply been the result of funding cuts.

• Staffers have claimed that, while raking in excess revenue as an organization, it failed to pay employees a decent wage and mistreated them for taking the work breaks to which they were entitled.

The Details:

#1: Poor management and financial problems

2010: A Texas media outlet concluded “poor management and financial problems were the ultimate reason for El Paso Planned Parenthood’s closure.” 

Planned Parenthood of the Inland Northwest was fined after an audit uncovered “incorrect codes" and "insufficient documentation" for Medicaid claims.

2011: Staffers at a California affiliate alleged Planned Parenthood Golden Gate’s CEO mishandled finances, resulting in disaffiliation.

2012: Ten separate audits in four states showed $7.8 million in Medicaid overpayments to the corporation. That same year, former staffers claimed Planned Parenthood was committing Medicaid fraud.

2013: Karen Reynolds, a former employee of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, accused the corporation of wrongly billing government programs – and as a result, Planned Parenthood was forced to pay $4.3 million in fines.

2015: Former Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast AR manager Patricia Carroll blew the whistle leading to a Medicaid fraud investigation. That same year, seven former employees urged lawmakers to investigate the corporation for a number of potentially criminal and fraudulent acts.

#2: Abuse

2005: Aymara Castro said PP of Houston and Southeast Texas subjected her to “unlawful sexual harassment, and to disparate terms, conditions and privileges of employment because of her sex.” She won her claim, filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

2013: A complaint was filed against PP Delaware medical director and abortionist Timothy Liveright for allegedly “yelling, screaming, and cursing” in front of employees and patients, and for “sexual[ly] harass[ing]… female employees.”

Delaware staffers claimed their facility was endangering staffers and patients. The complaints were ignored by leadership.

2020: Staffers at PP's then-largest affiliate reported that CEO Laura McQuade was known to “yell, berate, slam her fists, verbally abuse, humiliate, and bully employees.”

#3: Retaliation

Staffers across the country suggested speaking up incites retaliation from leadership.

2017: Former Arizona PP facility director Mayra Rodriguez was fired when she attempted to expose cases of botched abortions, employee abuse, and a failure to report minority abortions and sexual abuse. Rodriguez sued and was awarded $3 million.

2018: PP staffers spoke to the Nashville Scene “under the condition of anonymity due to fear of facing retaliation,” alleging mismanagement and a prioritization of profits over patients.

2019: After former Planned Parenthood president Leana Wen was fired, she claimed the corporation threatened her into silence after she suggested Planned Parenthood prioritized abortion over health care. Wen once touted the corporation's line and called abortion Planned Parenthood's “core mission.” 

2020: Texas Planned Parenthood staffers claimed they were fired out of “direct retaliation for both voicing complaints to the CEO and their ongoing efforts to unionize within the past year.” Additional Texas staffers alleged they were fired for attempting to unionize.

2026: Planned Parenthood North Central States complained of a disrespectful and chaotic work environment, according to MPR News. When staff spoke up, managers and executive leaders allegedly tried to silence them. 

#4: Pregnancy discrimination

2012: Former Planned Parenthood of Central Washington manager Shannon Sharp won $136,000 in a wrongful termination lawsuit after the corporation fired her rather than provide reasonable disability accommodations for her neck and back injury.

2018: New York Times exposed the abysmal way Planned Parenthood discriminated against pregnant employees. “[M]anagers in some locations declined to hire pregnant job candidates, refused requests by expecting mothers to take breaks and in some cases pushed them out of their jobs after they gave birth,” the Times reported, “in clear violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).”

A dozen lawsuits filed against Planned Parenthood clinics in federal and state courts since 2013 accused managers of denying workers rest periods, lunch breaks or overtime pay, or retaliating against them for taking medical leave.

The Times spoke to more than a dozen current and former staffers, which accused the abortion corporation “of sidelining, ousting or otherwise handicapping pregnant employees,” among other allegations.

#5: Racial discrimination

Staffers alleged the abortion corporation discriminated against them based on their race.

2022: A lawsuit filed by Ilana Gamza-Machado de Souza, a Jewish woman who worked as a Senior Brand Marketing Director in the Communications & Culture Department, alleged antisemitism on the part of Planned Parenthood.

2023: Samuel Ricardo Mitchell Jr., described by PPGNY as the affiliate’s Chief Operating Officer, claimed comments made by PPGNY leadership were “stained with racist overtones.”

2024: The Philadelphia Inquirer reported at least two dozen racial discrimination lawsuits had been filed against various Planned Parenthood affiliates, with staffers claiming racism was an inherent part of the company’s culture. 

2026: PP of Illinois (PPIL) was ordered to pay $500,000 for violations to "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

#6: Accepting racially-motivated donations

Former Planned Parenthood president Faye Wattleton revealed some supporters to Planned Parenthood donated to “keep the Black population down.”

[W]e have received contributions from people who want to support us because they want all welfare mothers and all Black women to stop having children.

Planned Parenthood and Racism

Live Action previously uncovered Planned Parenthood’s willingness to accept racially-discriminatory donations, and one former staffer claimed the organization trained her to offer financial assistance to only Black women seeking abortions — not to women “who sounded white.”

Former board member of Planned Parenthood NYC (1975-1980), Dr. Laverne Tolbert, told Newsmax TV, “There is no way to justify continuing to fund Planned Parenthood. Its roots are racist!”

#7: Systemic racism problem

In 2020, hundreds of past and present employees signed an open letter accusing the CEO of Planned Parenthood Greater New York (PPGNY) of mistreatment, abuse, racism, and mismanagement of funds. After Planned Parenthood Federation of America fired her, employees claim the corporation did so only because of public pressure.

Employees at additional affiliates told Buzzfeed News they witnessed “open racism,” endured “segregated” offices, and experienced overall unequal treatment of Black and minority employees at multiple Planned Parenthood centers across the country.

Planned Parenthood’s “systemic racism” was later acknowledged by multiple affiliates. 

An internal audit confirmed Planned Parenthood Federation of America had a racism problem.

#8: Profits over Patients

In 2018, Planned Parenthood staffers in Tennessee cried foul over claims that abortions at its Nashville facility were suspended due to a shortage of abortion providers and instead claimed Planned Parenthood’s mismanagement and prioritization of profits over patients were to blame.

They claimed the alleged “quality improvement” was a “euphemism for replacing employees who pushed back on troublesome policy changes with new ones who will be more compliant.”

The Scene learned that money was driving the abortion center, which as "designed to prioritize money over patients.”

One PP staffer told the Scene:

It felt like everything they did was money-motivated, not motivated by [concern for] the patient.

#9: Lack of decent wages

Planned Parenthood's mask began to crack after several staffers began unionizing. Statements from whistleblowers indicated that employees had been dissatisfied for a long time.

This caused some to unionize, others to expose the corporation’s abuses and low wages, others to detail the failure of affiliates to offer paid medial leave, and others to reveal how the corporation’s leaders prioritize profits over care.

While Planned Parenthood was busy raking in millions in excess revenue, its staffers claim it failed to pay them a decent wage. 

A report from In These Times claims Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM) employees first began organizing in 2016, and it was the sixth local affiliate to do so:

In at least two of these cases, the local employer was accused of attempting to squelch worker organizing.

In addition to low wages, one PPRM staffer took to Twitter to reveal that Planned Parenthood looked down on employees for taking the work breaks to which they were entitled.

Reviews published at Indeed.com display more worker dissatisfaction:

Other reviews make it clear patients were herded through like cattle, stating that “they schedule... patients every 10 minutes.”

#10: Manufacturing outrage to fuel donations

Planned Parenthood staffers have attested to the corporation’s financial mismanagement, noting that financial woes have never simply been the result of funding cuts.

Yet it likely finds blaming political leaders and recent (blocked) defunding much easier, as “outrage tends to fuel donations” to the corporation, says the Wall Street Journal.

Despite threatened closures and layoffs, Planned Parenthood had numerous job postings online, which include fundraising (philanthropy) positions. The postings indicate that Planned Parenthood is willing to spend tens of thousands in sign-on and retention bonuses for multiple positions.

“What benefits the national organization doesn’t always translate into improvements for affiliates,” the Wall Street Journal reported:

According to a former senior executive at the national office, outrage tends to fuel donations; the more restrictions on abortion, the more it benefits the national office…. Some former staff members describe the national office as bloated, with too many employees making too much money in undefined roles.

The Bottom Line:

These instances of corruption provide even more evidence as to why Planned Parenthood shouldn't receive a dime of taxpayer funding. It's time to permanently defund Planned Parenthood.