Planned Parenthood Indictment Fuels Efforts to Defund Abortion Providers

By Doug Carlson - Nov 13, 2007 - 2

An alarming set of charges brought against the nation’s largest abortion provider has stirred efforts by some lawmakers both to ensure taxpayer dollars are not illegally funding abortions and to defund the industry altogether in the United States.

Last week, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) introduced a bill that would prohibit Title X family planning funds from being directed to family planning organizations that perform abortions. The Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act (H.R. 4133), a measure that would apply only to domestic funding structures, shares similarities with the Mexico City Policy, which requires that foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must agree as a condition for receiving federal dollars not to promote or perform abortions.

If you oppose the government sending taxpayer dollars to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, please tell your senators to support the suspension of funds to organizations that promote abortions and encourage your congressmanor congresswoman to support the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act (H.R. 4133).

While current law forbids family planning agencies in the United States from using Title X funds to perform abortions, funds channeled to abortion-providing clinics inevitably underwrite abortions because they are used to offset operational expenses, subsequently freeing up dollars for abortions.

The biggest target of this bill is Planned Parenthood, which taxpayers subsidize with more than $300 million each year. The organization operates 860 facilities throughout the country and performed more than 264,000 abortions in 2005.

A recent 107-count indictment against Planned Parenthood in Kansas has heightened concern about unlawful abortion practices. Phill Kline, former Kansas attorney general, brought the suit last month in Kansas’ Johnson County District Court, alleging 29 counts of unlawful failure to determine viability for a late-term abortion, 29 counts of unlawful late-term abortions, 23 felony counts of making false information, and 26 counts of unlawful failure to maintain records.

Kline is no newcomer to the abortion fight. Before leaving his position as state attorney general in December, he filed 30 misdemeanor charges against abortionist George Tiller, now infamous for performing illegal late-term abortions in Wichita, Kansas.

A team of 13 senators, led by Sam Brownback (R-KS) and David Vitter (R-LA), are responding to these types of malpractice by urging their colleagues to suspend funding for domestic organizations that promote abortion. The group sent a letter Nov. 6 to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. David Obey (D-WI), urging them to suspend funding in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, the major vehicle for streaming funds to abortion providers.

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission also has expressed concerns on the charges against Planned Parenthood. In October, the ERLC joined more than 60 others in a letter urging Congress to suspend federal funding of Planned Parenthood until it can be determined whether the abortion provider in Kansas is guilty of the charges.

If you oppose the government sending taxpayer dollars to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, please tell your senators to support the suspension of funds to organizations that promote abortions and encourage your congressman or congresswoman to support the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act (H.R. 4133).

Further Learning

Learn more about: Life, Abortion, Citizenship, Legislation, National, Social Issues

2 comments (post your own) feed

1 On Nov 14th, 2007, at 3:04pm, Ed & Penny Thomas wrote:

Current laws forbid funding abortions which is what Planned Parenthood is all about.  Please do not use our tax dollars for the murder of these little ones. This goes against everything we believe in and hold dear.

2 On Jan 20th, 2008, at 7:03pm, Ruth Garner wrote:

Murder is just that, murder if your in the womb or out. My God says do not murder. And please don’t use my tax money to commit murder.

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