The Planned Parenthood Federation of America recently released an annual report covering its activities for 2014. The report indicates that 323,999 babies were aborted at Planned Parenthood clinics that year. This is down from 2013’s total: 327, 653. Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League and longtime critic of Planned Parenthood, says that is “the lowest number of annual abortions at Planned Parenthood since 2007.”
But Planned Parenthood is still, by far, the nation’s largest abortion provider. And abortion is still the organization’s biggest profit center.
Planned Parenthood bills itself as a health care provider, providing “services” like pap smears and pregnancy tests and contraceptives. Supposedly its clinic practitioners saw 2 ½ million patients in 2014. But that’s the lowest annual number reported by Planned Parenthood since 1998.
Planned Parenthood is doing less across the board. Its report shows that the total number of “services” provided to customers fell from just over 10½ milllion in 2013 to just under 9½ million in 2014.
Yet, while Planned Parenthood was seeing fewer patients and delivering fewer services, government grants and reimbursements to the organization rose from $528.4 million to $553.7 million — a 4.8 percent increase. Last summer, 11 undercover videos revealed that some clinics enjoy a supplementary income stream derived from remuneration for the so-called products of abortion, body parts of aborted babies. The bad publicity built upon the already-increasing momentum in several states to cut or drop funding to Planned Parenthood. In 2015, abortion clinics closed at a rate of more than one per week with 53 abortion clinics shutting down or halting all abortion services. But, dollars continue to pour into to the organization in the form of federal reimbursements through Medicaid contracts.
Abortions are down. Clinics are closing. Fewer people are using even the non-abortion services of Planned Parenthood. The summer’s revelations renewed Planned Parenthood’s sleaze aura. So, why on earth can’t politicians see their way clear to defund Planned Parenthood or at least reduce federal dollars flowing to the organization?
Evangelist Franklin Graham has been asking that question. Seeing no defund provisions in a massive year-end spending bill Franklin Graham had had enough of a Republican-led Congress who joined the chorus of criticism of Planned Parenthood but failed to strip out even a dollar of its funding. Before Christmas, Graham publicly resigned the party and declared himself an independent. He stated. “I have no hope in the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or the Tea Party to do what is best for America.”
The CEO of
Samaritan’s Purse and the
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association chooses opportune moments to make pronouncements about the great moral concerns of our day. He understands the power of politics to influence culture and he takes principled stands. On Facebook, Franklin Graham made a plea to Christians, “across the country to pray about running for office where they can have an impact.”
A well-timed request.
