By now everyone has seen clips of the Live Action videos where Planned Parenthood staffers aid and abet a purported pimp and prostitute seeking abortion, birth control, and STD testing for their underage sex workers. But this is not the primary reason that Planned Parenthood should cease getting one red cent in taxpayer funding.
Planned Parenthood is America’s largest abortion provider. They make tens of millions in profit from abortion every year and have over $1 billion in assets. It is well known that the same teenage and college girls who frequent Planned Parenthood’s doors to get the pill for themselves or condoms for their boyfriend head right back to these same clinics for an abortion or referral when those devices fail.
Unfortunately that fact alone hasn’t been enough to capture the American consciousness to the degree necessary to overcome a pro-funding lobby dedicated to protecting an annual $360 million river of taxpayer money. There are many evils in the world, and this one seems relatively minor to many folks. As long as we’re not directly funding abortions, how bad can it be? Plus, doesn’t Planned Parenthood do other good work such as providing checkups for poor women and minimizing unintended pregnancies?
Planned Parenthood largely has a good reputation in the public. Just yesterday, an activist in Delaware showed me a 2008 poll where 64% of their citizens had favorable views of Planned Parenthood.
Even their name sounds good – who doesn’t want to ‘plan their parenthood’?
But thanks to Lila Rose and Live Action, now that’s all changed. The American people can now see for themselves just what does happen inside many of these facilities. They can see how a pro-abortion, free-sex mentality can color the entire perspective of these Planned Parenthood staffers in a way that even leads them to aid and abet illegal conduct.
These films are a catalyst, a spark that’s been needed to awaken American consciousness to be able to hear why Planned Parenthood should be defunded. Simply put, since Planned Parenthood is in the abortion business, taxpayer funding of their other services aids and abets their abortion business. They shouldn’t get any subsidies from taxpayers, period.
It is our task now to deliver the full argument and make the sale.