Thread by me.
February 15, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a desperate attempt to rally pro-abortion forces to head-off proposed defunding and allegations of illegal activity at Planned Parenthood, CEO Cecile Richards sent out an email on February 14 with the subject line “the worst attack – ever.” Richards said that the “anti-choice House leadership is forcing a vote on the most dangerous legislative assault on women’s health in Planned parenthood’s 95-year history.”
“They want to shut down every Planned Parenthood health center in America,” Richards declared.
Richards was referring to the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, a measure introduced by U.S. Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) on January 7, 2011. The bill, which was just approved by the House Energy and Commerce today, would strip Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in America, of federal Title X funds.
Title X funds are earmarked for providing “comprehensive family planning” and related services.
Pence stated, “The largest abortion provider in America should not also be the largest recipient of federal funding under Title X.”
Planned Parenthood receives over $360 million a year in federal funding.
Pence said the new legislation would prevent any abortion-providing organization, including Planned Parenthood, from receiving Title X funds. However, the bill would not reduce the total amount of Title X funds and would free more federal monies to groups that do not provide abortion.
In her email, Richards observed, “This attack ... is not an isolated incident. It’s part of a coordinated campaign meant to shut down Planned Parenthood ...”
Along with the proposed defunding legislation, recent revelations made in a series of undercover videos released by the pro-life organization Live Action have shown numerous Planned Parenthood facilities willing to aid and abet sex traffickers by helping them obtain birth control and abortions for their underage “sex workers.”
The videos have brought into question Planned Parenthood’s credibility as a self-professed provider of care for women.
Live Action’s latest videos have also resulted in calls for law enforcement investigations into Planned Parenthood’s activities.
Live Action President Lila Rose said videos of PP clinic staff in New Jersey and Richmond, VA, coaching a purported pimp and his prostitute on how to cover up their child sex trafficking operation is evidence of the endemic problem of Planned Parenthood’s willingness to aid and abet in the sexual exploitation of minors and young women.
“We are sharing the full Richmond footage and transcripts with Virginia law enforcement officials and we are formally asking Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to conduct a statewide investigation of these heinous practices, just as the New Jersey Attorney General is opening her own investigation into Planned Parenthood’s compliance with the law in her state. Planned Parenthood needs to be held accountable,” Rose said.
On another front, a coalition of many of the country’s most prominent pro-life organizations, united under the name “Expose Planned Parenthood,” held a “vigil for victims of underage sex trafficking” February 14 in front of Planned Parenthood facilities across the country.
The website of the Expose Planned Parenthood coalition says that the vigils focused on three major ideas: that Planned Parenthood is aiding & abetting underage sex trafficking, that it is unsafe for women and girls, and that it should not be receiving tax dollars.
“Enough is enough,” says the coalition. “We must act swiftly and take a public stand against Planned Parenthood’s harmful agenda - raising awareness in the communities where we live, and calling upon Congress to IMMEDIATELY strip the abortion chain of all tax funding.”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) slammed Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) for its attempt to smear Lila Rose and cover up “its protracted pattern of illicit activities.”
“Out of fear and desperation, Planned Parenthood and its president, Cecile Richards, have unleashed their attack dogs to distract from their unsafe and exploitive practices,” Dannenfelser said in a press release. “Ms. Richards has no concern about the organization’s documented and systemic willingness to aid and abet sex trafficking of minors, which tells us much about Planned Parenthood and their real agenda.”
“At its core, Planned Parenthood and its clinics are not safe for women, for children and for the public at large. American taxpayers should not be funding this organization that engages in potential criminal activity,” Dannenfelser said.
Thread by wmfights.
WASHINGTON (BP)--The U.S. House of Representatives voted Feb. 18 to eliminate all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the country's No. 1 abortion provider, during the remainder of this fiscal year.
It is apparently the first time a chamber of Congress has ever voted to defund the organization, which recorded more than 324,000 abortions at its clinics in 2008, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
In a 240-185 roll call, the House acted to cut off all federal government money for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its 102 affiliates through Sept. 30. Planned Parenthood and its affiliates received $363.2 million in government grants and contracts during the 2008-09 fiscal year. Some of that total came from state and local governments.
Representatives added the Planned Parenthood amendment to a continuing resolution to extend funding for federal agencies in the absence of a 2011 budget. Congress failed to pass a budget last year, adopting instead a resolution that continued funding for the federal government through March 4.
Pro-life advocates applauded passage of the amendment.
Rep. Mike Pence, R.-Ind., the amendment's sponsor, described the vote as "a victory for taxpayers and a victory for life. By banning federal funding to Planned Parenthood, Congress has taken a stand for millions of Americans who believe their tax dollars should not be used to subsidize the largest abortion provider in America."
Douglas Johnson, the National Right to Life Committee's legislative director, said the "landmark vote demonstrates that most House members now recognize Planned Parenthood is a hyper-political, under-regulated, out-of-control mega-marketer of abortion as a method of birth control."
A long-time legislative strategist in Washington, Johnson said it is the first time he recalls a congressional vote to cut all federal funds for Planned Parenthood.
Pence's amendment, as well as the continuing resolution it is a part of, faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
The House still had more than 100 amendments proposed to the continuing resolution the afternoon of Feb. 18 before a vote on final passage could be taken. Republicans are seeking to cut $100 billion from the budget in the resolution. In amendments approved Feb. 18, the House voted to withhold funds for implementation of last year's health-care reform law.
The roll call on Pence's amendment was largely along party lines. Ten Democrats reportedly joined 230 Republicans in supporting the proposal, although the official roll call had not been posted on the House's website by 4:30 EST.
In a Feb. 17 floor speech on his amendment, Pence said he was not conducting a "war on Planned Parenthood.... Sadly, abortion on demand is legal in America. This debate is about who pays for it.
"Nobody is saying that Planned Parenthood can't be the leading advocate of abortion on demand in America," he said, "but why do I have to pay for it?
"Nobody is saying that Planned Parenthood can't continue to be the largest abortion provider in America, but why do tens of millions of pro-life taxpayers have to pay for it?"
House approval of the amendment followed nearly three weeks of damaging publicity for Planned Parenthood. Hidden-camera videos secretly recorded at the organization's clinics and released Feb. 1-8 showed employees demonstrating an apparent willingness to aid sex traffickers whose prostitutes are in their early teens.
Live Action, which is led by young pro-lifers, released video footage from secret investigations at six clinics that showed Planned Parenthood staff signaling cooperation with a self-described pimp in providing birth control, testing for sexually transmitted diseases and/or abortions for his alleged, under-age sex workers. The pimp and a prostitute who, in some cases, accompanied him to the clinics were actors doing undercover work for Live Action. An undercover audio from another Planned Parenthood clinic in Washington, D.C., and released Feb. 10 revealed a similar response from a staff member.
The clandestine videos were shot at Planned Parenthood clinics in New Jersey, New York and Virginia from Jan. 11 to 14, according to Live Action.
Pence has been working to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood in recent years. Two previous attempts to eliminate grants for the organization under the Title X program failed. His proposals to that effect failed by a 231-189 vote in 2007 and by 247-183 in 2009.
Title X is the federal government's family planning program, and Planned Parenthood is the leading recipient of Title X funds. Although Title X funds do not go directly for abortions, pro-life advocates contend federal money frees up other contributions to Planned Parenthood for the promotion and performance of abortions.
Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land wrote the House leadership Feb. 16 to urge support for Pence's amendment and other pro-life legislation in the continuing resolution. "We do not believe the government should be in the business of supporting the nation's leading abortion provider with taxpayer dollars, no matter how Planned Parenthood allocates the money," said Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC).
The ERLC sent an e-mail alert to constituents earlier Feb. 18 to encourage calls to House members for support of the amendment.
Pence introduced in January the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, H.R. 217, which would prohibit Title X funds from going to all abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood.
The Government Accountability Office reported only $53 million of the $363 million in government funds Planned Parenthood received in 2008-09 came through Title X, Pence said.
Planned Parenthood recently issued new rules requiring at least one clinic per affiliate to perform abortions, signaling it is prepared to gain a greater market share of the abortion business.
The Republican leadership placed several pro-life measures in the continuing resolution. Among those are:
-- Reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy, which would bar federal money for organizations that perform or promote abortions overseas.
-- Restoration of the prohibition on funds for the United Nations Population Fund, which has been found to support China's coercive population control program.
-- Re-establishment of the ban on the use of federal and congressionally approved local funds for elective abortions in the District of Columbia.
Live Action's newly released video stings are the latest in a series of undercover investigations of Planned Parenthood clinics released during the last four years.
A previous hidden-camera project by Live Action caught Planned Parenthood employees in Alabama, Arizona, California, Indiana and Tennessee seeking to cover up alleged child sexual abuse, prompting some state investigations. Another video sting showed a counselor at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Wisconsin providing erroneous information about fetal development.
In an undercover investigation Live Action conducted by telephone, Planned Parenthood workers in seven states were caught on audio tape agreeing to receive donations designated for abortions of African-American babies.