68% of Americans—including 69% of women—oppose taxpayer funding of abortion. A majority of people who self-identified as “pro-choice” also opposed tax dollars going to abortion.
These results are from the most recent Marist poll conducted in November 2015.
Planned Parenthood receives over half a billion tax dollars annually—nearly half of its annual operating budget. The largest percentage of this funding comes through state Medicaid reimbursements. The next largest source of funding is government grants, predominantly Title X funds for “family planning services,” abortion being one of the methods used for “family planning.”
The Misleading 3% Statistic of Funding for Planned Parenthood
Federal policies such as the Hyde Amendment technically prohibit taxpayer funding for abortions. Planned Parenthood argues its health services for women deserve tax-payer funding and the very small number of abortions they do—only 3% of their total services—is covered by personal contributions (almost one-third of their total revenue).
But the largely promoted 3% is dependent upon “unbundling” items which are part of a larger service.
Consider, for example, going out to dinner at a local steakhouse. With your steak you also receive a salad with dressing, rolls and butter, and a baked potato loaded with butter, sour cream, chives, bacon, and cheese. Without including beverage and dessert, your steak is already less than 3% of the total items you received.
New York Post Columnist Rich Lowry offers another analogy: “Major League Baseball teams could say that they sell about 20 million hot dogs and play 2,430 games in a season, so baseball is only .012 percent of what they do.”
An Important Legislative Issue at the State and Federal Level
The release of undercover videos in 2015 documenting Planned Parenthood’s sale of baby body parts has fueled efforts to eliminate government funding for Planned Parenthood at the state as well as the federal level.
So far, ten states have passed legislation terminating state funding for Planned Parenthood, redirecting the funds to qualified health centers.
A federal bill repealing major portions of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and defunding Planned Parenthood passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, but was vetoed by President Obama.
The topic has already become part of the 2016 Presidential Campaign. (To hear what the candidates have said, watch our brief video.)
Your vote for state legislators as well as candidates for US Congress could keep efforts to defund Planned Parenthood moving forward, or hasten their end.
Know what is at stake in the 2016 Elections. It’s important to vote, and even more important to make an informed decision.
Pro-Life Leaders share their perspective on efforts to Defund Planned Parenthood in this clip from 2016: A Call to Action. Watch the full episode from our Emmy® award-winning television program Facing Life Head-On here.
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