Planned Parenthood of Illinois fined $500K for racial discrimination

Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) has been ordered to pay $500,000 for violations to "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits race discrimination," according to a news release from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Key Takeaways:

• Planned Parenthood of Illinois was ordered to pay a $500k fine for violations of federal laws against racial discrimination.

• The agreement reached between the EEOC and Planned Parenthood stated that the abortion corporation "engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment against white employees," including "segregat[ing] employees by race, subject[ing] white employees to harassment," and more.

• Planned Parenthood has a history of staff complaints regarding instances of racism at the corporation.

The Details:

EEOC's claims against Planned Parenthood of Illinois

The EEOC reportedly "reached an agreement with Planned Parenthood through its administrative conciliation process after conducting an investigation and finding reasonable cause to believe Planned Parenthood engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment against white employees."

The EEOC claimed:

Planned Parenthood of Illinois (Planned Parenthood) violated federal law when they segregated employees by race, subjected white employees to harassment, and engaged in disparate treatment against white employees regarding terms, conditions, and privileges of employment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found as part of a class investigation into charges brought by multiple Planned Parenthood employees.

According to the EEOC’s reasonable cause findings outlined in the release:

Planned Parenthood had mandatory “affinity caucuses” that were segregated by race, in which employees of other races were not allowed to participate.

In addition to racially harassing statements made by a Planned Parenthood manager, Planned Parenthood demanded that all employees attend DEI-related training sessions which involved repeated harassing and derogatory statements targeting white employees, including that they “are White and do not feel racism the same way non-White patients feel,” and that “white supremacy is exerted at every level of oppression (individual, interpersonal, organizational, and societal).”

On a weekly basis, staff were required to attend one to two hour sessions of either the segregated racial affinity caucuses or DEI training. Planned Parenthood also denied white employees access to time off that it granted only to black employees.

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas claimed that segregating employees by race violates "the core promise of our nation's civil rights laws," writing, "Title VII guarantees equal treatment for every employee and prohibits race discrimination in America's workplaces." Lucas added:

"Those protections equally apply to white workers. There is no DEI exception to Title VII’s requirements. Employers who deliberately separate workers or subject them to harassment because of their race, including white employees, violate federal law. The Commission will continue to enforce these protections to ensure equal opportunity for all.”

Michelle Wetzel, Planned Parenthood of Illinois' ​general counsel ,told Reuters in a statement that "The EEOC has issued their findings, and ‌we ⁠have come to an agreement about a path forward that will allow us to continue providing critical health care services to our valued patients from Illinois and across the country."

Reuters noted:

It was not clear who would be eligible to receive payouts from the settlement, or whether the group had agreed to revise its policies as is standard in ​EEOC settlements. The commission said Planned Parenthood removed a manager who had made racially ​harassing statements.

Past accusations of racial discrimination

Though Planned Parenthood — with the help of media elites awarded by the organization — has tried to dismiss its past, it cannot change the fact that it repeatedly defended and honored its eugenicist founder Margaret Sanger for a century, even putting her name on its flagship facility in Manhattan.

Eventually, when the corporation could no longer deny its eugenicist and racist history, it succumbed to societal pressure — at least externally — to “cancel” Sanger.

But Sanger was just the tip of the iceberg of the discrimination uncovered at Planned Parenthood.

In July 2020, hundreds of past and current Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) employees published an open letter which alleged the abortion organization was “founded by a racist, white woman” and had a “present steeped in white supremacy.”

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

Nineteen separate Planned Parenthood affiliates with operations in 33 states issued statements admitting PP’s racism. An internal audit also confirmed that Planned Parenthood Federation of America has a racism problem.

That same year, over two dozen Planned Parenthood staffers from multiple affiliates came forward to Buzzfeed News and accused Planned Parenthood of “open racism” and preferential treatment of white employees over staffers of color.

They alleged that they had been “berated and belittled by their bosses” while their white counterparts were not treated in that manner. They also claimed they were held back from promotions and were “unable to move up within the organization, while their white colleagues were promoted,” Buzzfeed reported.

It is important to note that although Buzzfeed claimed to have corroborating evidence of these claims, the outlet did not publish this evidence, nor did it name many of the staffers, who reportedly “fear[ed] giving ammunition to abortion opponents.”

Facts to Note:

Discrimination based on race or other factors is a violation of requirements for receiving federal funds. Yet...

• In its latest annual report (2023-2024), Planned Parenthood showed that it received nearly $800 million in taxpayer funding, with net assets and total liabilities up to $3.1B, the highest ever reported.

• Planned Parenthood's latest annual report also revealed it committed over 400,000 abortions, the highest ever reported.

• This was a 100% increase in abortions and a 291% increase in taxpayer funding (nearly $203M v $792M) since 2000.

• Since 2000, Planned Parenthood has committed over 7.5M abortions, received nearly $11.4B from taxpayers, and accumulated nearly $2.2B in excess revenue.

Go Deeper:

Last year, Trump's Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) removed federal Medicaid funding from various abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, for one year. That is expected to expire on our nation's 250th birthday.

Planned Parenthood deserves to be permanently defunded — and Live Action News' series, 'DEFUND 250,' is a reminder to the public of many reasons why:

• 10 facts Planned Parenthood lied about or denied

• 10 times Planned Parenthood's racism was revealed

• 10 times Planned Parenthood helped child predators

• 10 times Planned Parenthood deceived women

• 10 times Planned Parenthood misled clients and the public

• 10 times Planned Parenthood's sex ed misled and groomed kids

• 10 times women said Planned Parenthood coerced or forced them to abort

• 10 lawsuits reveal why Planned Parenthood is not a leader in health care

• 10 shocking moments from the Planned Parenthood body parts scandal

• Taxpayer-funded Planned Parenthood helps to create more abortionists