New report makes the ‘Case for Defunding Planned Parenthood’… once and for all

Today, Live Action released an extensive and well-documented report listing Planned Parenthood’s vast array of abuses which clearly show that it should no longer receive taxpayer funding. Currently, the nation’s number one abortion provider receives nearly $700M in taxpayer dollars annually while committing 40% of all abortions in the United States, even as its legitimate health care offerings have plummeted over the past decade.

Bad stewardship

The report discusses the corporation’s abuse of taxpayer funds, including details about its many instances of regulatory violations and Medicaid fraud. This fraud has been documented multiple times in official government reports, and former employees have publicly testified to their knowledge of the corporation’s fraud as well.

Profit over people

The report goes on to provide support for the idea that Planned Parenthood’s top priority is not the health and wellbeing of individuals; instead, it protects its own financial interests above all else.

Within this realm of discussion, the report 1) gives an overview of investigations into Planned Parenthood’s involvement in the trafficking of tissues obtained from aborted human beings, 2) notes how the corporation has “repeatedly failed to abide by mandatory reporting laws regarding child sexual abuse,” 3) specifies ways in which Planned Parenthood has provided substandard “care” to the patients it purports to help (revealing 911 calls, health code violations, lawsuits, and client deaths), and 4) describes cases in which Planned Parenthood has been accused of discriminatory and exploitative employment practices.

“Fetal tissue trafficking, aiding abusers, substandard care, and exploitative employment practices are diverse expressions of a single core attribute: Planned Parenthood prioritizes profit at the expense of anyone and everyone,” a report summary asserts.

Targeting the vulnerable

The report also clearly denotes how Planned Parenthood targets minors with inappropriate sex education and “gender-affirming care,” which it states have been “designed to transform kids into long-term, even lifelong, Planned Parenthood customers.” It describes how transgender ideology is incorporated into Planned Parenthood-approved curricula and videos from the earliest ages, and points out how the corporation has even expressed interest in “expanding” its “gender-affirming care” services for minors.

But it isn’t just minors who are targeted when at their most vulnerable; a number of older teens and young adults have stated that when they sought cross-sex hormones from Planned Parenthood, the facilities didn’t require any sort of assessment, and they (to their own detriment) received hormones the same day — some with little more than a single, 30-minute appointment. Planned Parenthood openly admits that this is how its “informed consent” model operates.

Planned Parenthood Gave Her Testosterone at 16 — Paid For With Your Tax Dollars

When it comes to sex ed, Planned Parenthood has been very effective at infiltrating schools. As the report notes:

Planned Parenthood claims to be “the single largest provider of sex education in the United States,” and its influence over sex education extends far beyond its own brand by means of offshoot and affiliated organizations. When one adds to Planned Parenthood itself all of the associated organizations that produce and distribute sex education materials, the massive scope of the abortion corporation’s influence in our nation’s classrooms begins to come into focus.

The report describes how Planned Parenthood-approved curriculum sexualizes children, normalizes and promotes risky and age-inappropriate sexual behavior, and undermines parental authority.

Pathways to defunding

“The only way to ensure that Planned Parenthood is permanently defunded without relying on executive actions that can be undone by future administrations is for Congress to pass ironclad legislation that cuts off all federal funding, once and for all,” notes the report, which calls on Congress to “take decisive action to enact the permanent legislative defunding of Planned Parenthood, ensuring that no future administration can restore its taxpayer funding. This means eliminating all taxpayer subsidies through Medicaid, Title X, and federal grants, while also preventing Planned Parenthood from accessing funds through loopholes or indirect channels.”

The report suggests “multiple pathways” though which Congress may defund Planned Parenthood, including:

• Title X Rule Enforcement: HHS can reinstate the Protect Life Rule and require Title X funding recipients to be financially and physically separate from abortion facilities….

• Medicaid Disqualification: HHS has the authority to disqualify Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider due to repeated violations of federal laws and regulations, including failure to report sexual abuse and Medicaid fraud….

• Executive Order on Federal Grants: The president can issue an executive order prohibiting federal agencies from awarding grants to organizations that provide or refer for abortions.

• Enforcement of Child Protection Laws: HHS can audit all Title X recipients to ensure compliance with mandatory reporting laws for child sexual abuse….

• Fetal Tissue and Trafficking Investigations: The Department of Justice (DOJ) must reopen and expand investigations into Planned Parenthood’s participation in illegal fetal tissue sales and abortion trafficking….

• Congressional Collaboration: The administration must work with Congress to push for a permanent legislative defunding of Planned Parenthood, ensuring that taxpayer dollars never again subsidize its exploitative practices.

The majority of the report’s research was originally published at Live Action News and was contributed by Live Action Research Fellow Carole Novielli and several other Live Action News authors. Read the report in its entirety here.