'DEFUND 250': 10 times Planned Parenthood's racism was revealed

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.

Key Takeaways:

• Planned Parenthood was founded by a eugenicist who believed that only certain people should be allowed to reproduce.

• The organization's eugenicist, ableist, racist mindset continues to permeate the organization's culture, even today.

• Planned Parenthood must be permanently defunded.

The Details:

Planned Parenthood has led a clever marketing campaign for decades, successfully duping generations of people into believing that the organization is a leader in women's health care. Few people realize that it was founded by a eugenicist who was particularly focused on ensuring that the population of certain 'undesirable' people groups was controlled.

Shockingly, that eugenicist, ableist, racist mindset continues to permeate the organization's culture, even today.

Over the years, Live Action News has continually sounded the alarm over Planned Parenthood's human rights abuses. This overview features 10 important articles exposing the abortion giant's racist philosophies and practices:

#1: Are Sanger’s eugenic efforts still a hallmark of Planned Parenthood’s mission?

Planned Parenthood's connection to racism stems directly from its roots. The organization's founder, Margaret Sanger, was a known eugenicist who believed in superior races — advocating for the extermination of those deemed 'inferior' by contraception, sterilization, and abortion; she even called for a “license to breed” and the permanent sterilization of those she deemed “feebleminded.”

According to many reports, the targets of her horrendous efforts were disproportionately Black and poor.

In 1939, Sanger created her “Negro Project,” in which she desired to use Black ministers in furthering her organization’s agenda. “We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population,” she said. And if it did, these ministers could “straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”

Upon invitation, Sanger also once spoke to the Ku Klux Klan, discussing her thoughts on the importance of mainstream birth control.

Though Planned Parenthood has seemingly tried to distance itself from Sanger, the organization held Sanger up as an icon for decades.

Allegations of racist behavior continue to plague the organization, indicating that, despite what it says, it has never moved far from its racist founding.

#2: Former Planned Parenthood board member: Defund this ‘racist’ organization

Dr. La Verne Tolbert was a former Planned Parenthood board member turned pro-life advocate. As a Black woman working with the organization in the 1970s, she was struck with the realization that Planned Parenthood's goal was population control for minority groups, like those in the Black community.

In a book describing her experience, Tolbert later wrote:

As a black woman, the question kept coming back to me like a boomerang. I wondered why abortion was more necessary for my ethnic group, why this organization fought so hard to give us this particular “right” when the rights for better education, better jobs, and better housing seemed paramount.

In an 2015 interview, she said, “There is no way to justify continuing to fund Planned Parenthood.  Its roots are racist!”

The Hard Line | La Verne Tolbert, PhD discusses the latest Planned Parenthood video released

#3: Employees at Planned Parenthood’s largest affiliate call for removal of CEO

In June 2020, employees at at Planned Parenthood of Greater New York issued an open letter calling for the removal of the affiliate's CEO, Laura McQuade. Among their complaints about McQuade were the allegations that she treated Black staff differently.

As Live Action's Carole Novielli previously reported:

“[S]ystemic racism, pay inequity, and lack of upward mobility for Black staff,” were common among reports from employees of color during third party assessments, according to the letter. Of the three assessments conducted to address the obvious gap in racial equity, none proved effective in resolving the issue.

#4: Planned Parenthood affiliate COO files racism lawsuit against the corporation

The COO hired to replace McQuade after her ousting also filed a lawsuit against the organization. He, too, said that leadership at Planned Parenthood of Greater New York was “stained with racist overtones.”

In his complaint, Samuel Ricardo Mitchell Jr., a Black ordained Pastor, said he was held to a different standard than other employees, and was passed over in favor of white women.

Mitchell’s lawyer said about his client's lawsuit:

“Planned Parenthood was started by Margaret Sanger who was an unabashed racist, someone who believed in eugenics and someone who was a sympathizer for the Ku Klux Klan. She was the one that founded Planned Parenthood and she is still featured by that organization as one of its leaders in this day and age where we have cancel culture where people like Harvey Weinstein can be canceled [and] where confederate generals who were immortalized with statues are taken down."

The lawsuit noted, "...[T]he reality is that Planned Parenthood continues to be run by people who are openly hostile to racial minorities, the disabled, older workers and those who complain about discriminatory practices.”

#5: Planned Parenthood employees describe corporation’s ‘systemic racism’ and ‘white supremacy’ problem

Some of the biggest complaints alleging racism come from the corporation's employees, indicating that rather than distancing itself from its nefarious roots, Planned Parenthood continues to maintain these practices.

In 2020, some staffers said that minority employees “have worked tirelessly under the thumb of White Supremacist Agenda.”

That racism was even acknowledged by some of the Planned Parenthood affiliates. On Twitter, Planned Parenthood Greater Washington and North Idaho wrote:

White supremacy and systemic racism permeate every American institution – including Planned Parenthood. We must reckon with the history of Planned Parenthood and that of the larger reproductive rights movement….

Similarly, Planned Parenthood Action New Hampshire said, in part:

We know that systemic racism isn’t limited to police departments… It’s in our institutions, including Planned Parenthood… We need to examine how white supremacy of the past and present continues to reverberate in the institutions we are a part of today — including Planned Parenthood.

#6: Report: 19 Planned Parenthood affiliates have admitted to past and present racism

A 2020 report released by the American Life League, titled “Planned Parenthood’s Racism… In Their Own Words,” highlighted Planned Parenthood's continued history of racial discrimination and targeting. 

American Life League Executive Director Jim Sedlak (now deceased) said at the time that the report was compiled from "recent public statements of Planned Parenthood affiliates operating in 33 states and their employees.” According to Sedlak, the report showed “that Planned Parenthood openly admits it is a racist organization today.”

According to the report (as of 2020):

So far, 19 Planned Parenthood affiliates have issued public statements… not only recognizing the racism of Sanger, but admitting to being racist today. In making these statements, the affiliates referred to their organizations as being guilty of “white supremacy” (12 times), “structural racism” (10 times), “implicit bias” (6 times), and “systemic racism” (5 times).

#7: New internal audit: Racism at Planned Parenthood Federation of America has existed for years

A 2020 internal assessment conducted by Planned Parenthood Federation of America revealed systemic racism throughout the organization.

Buzzfeed News, which reviewed the assessment, said that Black employees "have been held to a different standard than the organization’s white employees and that they are often expected to work more and given less leeway.”

As Live Action's Carole Novielli reported:

According to Buzzfeed News, Planned Parenthood’s Black employees felt “over-scrutinized” and “placed under greater scrutiny than white colleagues” and were “expected to put in extraordinary hours of work” while “white employees were given more leeway.” They also claimed Planned Parenthood had “uneven promotion and hiring practices,” and that Black employees felt their work roles were assigned due to “racialized assumptions.”

#8: Former Planned Parenthood employee’s lawsuit alleges continuing ‘racism’ without accountability

In 2022, a former employee named Nicole Moore filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood in which she maintained that the organization has a "structural racism" issue.

Moore's claim read:

“While Planned Parenthood has publicly boasted its commitment to racial equality, the organization – whose tagline is ‘Care. No matter what’ – has blatantly ignored reports by dozens of its Black employees of systemic unequal hiring and promotion, more work for lower pay, overt hostility, and trafficking in stereotypes by leadership. Instead of addressing the issues, Planned Parenthood has doubled down by punishing employees of color who dare to speak up, pretextually disciplining them and creating working conditions so intolerable that they are effectively forced to leave.”

#9: More than two dozen lawsuits have been filed by former Planned Parenthood staff alleging racism

A 2023 Philadelphia Inquirer report revealed that over two dozen lawsuits had been filed against the abortion organization, alleging systemic racism and poor treatment by leadership. Planned Parenthood staffers told the Inquirer that "racism is an inherent part in the company's culture."

One of those lawsuits was filed by Michelle Fisher, a Black nurse practitioner who worked for the organization. In her lawsuit, Fisher said her manager threw a patient’s urine sample at her desk, allowing urine to splash all over her desk. Eventually, she said, she was laid off in retaliation for filing complaints of racial discrimination.

“If we can’t count on Planned Parenthood to respect Black employees, how can we count on them to care for people of color as patients?” asked Valerie Shore, Fisher’s attorney.

#10: Live Action Investigations: Racially-motivated donations

A Live Action investigator called a number of Planned Parenthood facilities, pretending to be a potential donor. The catch? He wanted to ensure the funds would be used to kill Black babies.

Black Lives Don't Matter at Planned Parenthood

Rather than respond with shock or disgust, Planned Parenthood employees seemed all-too-willing to accept the money under such pretenses.

“You sure can donate specifically to the abortion of a black baby.”

“For whatever reason, we will accept the money.”

The Bottom Line:

Though Planned Parenthood was defunded for one year under President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," that defunding is set to expire this July. In the wake of these and other egregious violations, Congress must permanently defund Planned Parenthood.

It is disgraceful to think that an organization steeped in racism would continue to receive any taxpayer funding. Planned Parenthood needs to be defunded for good.