A Closer Look at Planned Parenthood

Since the start of the pandemic, social media platforms such as Instagram have increasingly become an accessible means of spreading awareness of political and social issues. One infographic recently propagated called to light the services Planned Parenthood performs outside of abortions in an attempt to increase funding for the organization. While abortion was placed on the list of services, other things such as childbirth classes, prenatal services, and vaccinations were given equal importance. Members of the pro-life community think of Planned Parenthood as an abortion facility, so I thought it would be interesting to look at the breakdown of Planned Parenthood services and the way in which they allocate resources.

While the organization promotes many options available to pregnant women, abortion still remains the most common preganancy resolution service. Options such as adoption referrals and prenatal services made up just 14,077 visits to Planned Parenthood clinics last year. Clearly, the “options” presented to women are skewed towards abortive services given that in 2018/19 96% of pregnancy resolution visits ended with an abortive procedure. In other words, that’s one abortion alternative (adoption or continuation of pregnancy) chosen for every 24.5 abortions performed by Planned Parenthood. Although in many states Planned Parenthood clinics are one of the only places abortive services are offered- and many go with the intention of abortion- non-abortive services still shouldn’t be overrepresented in the Planned Parenthood mission.

In Planned Parenthood's most recent report (2018/19), the organization reported that of its $1.64 billion net revenue, $616.8 million was from government reimbursements and grants, a $53 million increase of government revenue since 2017/18. With an increase in government spending came an increase in abortions; the organization reported 345,672 abortions in the last fiscal year, 12,915 more than the previous year. However, it is important to note that government grants cannot be used to perform the actual abortions. Regardless, the amount of taxpayer money that goes toward an organization that promotes and performs abortions at such a high rate is at odds with the fact that nearly half of Americans oppose abortion. According to a Gallup poll taken in May 2020, 46% of people surveyed claimed to be pro-life, only 2% less than those that claimed to be pro-choice (48%). If such a high percentage of people are against abortions, it begs the question: why is Planned Parenthood funded by taxpayers?

Lillian Beckwith (C’23)