If anyone’s anxious to turn the page on 2015, it’s Planned Parenthood. Rocked by more scandals than any organization not named the IRS, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for Cecile Richards’s group since David Daleiden pulled back the curtain on the organization’s trafficking in baby organs. With videos of her sinister side business in the double digits, it’s only by the Obama administration’s crass indifference that the group has survived this long.

While the rest of the country shuddered with the allegations that the group was removing even beating hearts from tiny victims to sell, the president doggedly stood by his favorite “nonprofit” — which the latest reports show is profiting quite nicely, thankyouverymuch. Despite one of the worst years ever for the group’s brand, Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report shows that revenue hasn’t exactly been a problem for the baby harvesters. Although it saw 200,000 fewer patients in the 2014-15 fiscal year, government contributions were actually up! Which, considering the fallout from the footage, proved to be an important crutch for the organization while its biggest moneymaker — abortion — declined.

In a rare bit of good news — owed in large part to the dozens of new pro-life state laws — Planned Parenthood performed 3,600 fewer abortions last fiscal year than 2013-14. That’s not to say the organization didn’t do its share of damage. A staggering 323,999 innocent unborn babies lost their lives to abortion at Planned Parenthood centers last year — enough to fill Yankee Stadium six times. And, believe it or not, they did it with almost 40 fewer clinics (661, compared to the 700 it had in 2012).

But even though business slumped, government aid certainly didn’t. Although private contributions are down, it looks like forced taxpayer dollars more than made up for it. Instead of putting the financial hurt on the group for its possible criminal activities, the government rewarded it. For all of Planned Parenthood’s fraud, scandals, and clinic violations, they actually raked in $25 million more from taxpayers in 2014-15 than the year before! In fact, the combined revenue stream from federal, state, and local governments made up the biggest slice (43 percent) of the Planned Parenthood pie. No wonder Cecile Richards is so desperate to keep her government funding intact. After a lifetime’s worth of negative headlines in 2015, she’s probably relying on that money more heavily than ever before.

And while the group’s overall services dramatically dropped, there is one area that never slows down for Planned Parenthood: political activism. Thanks to taxpayers’ reluctant contributions, Richards was able to free up another $39.3 million to influence public policy. (And that doesn’t include its PAC efforts!) “Our advocacy efforts never slow down,” she bragged. “We are constantly working hard to deepen our partnerships with allies, lobby in state legislatures, and fight in the courts…” Unfortunately, that lobbying isn’t limited to abortion either. In a surprising twist, this year’s report went to great lengths to show its support for another cause: LGBT “rights.” Raising more than a few eyebrows, Richards pointed out that, “Planned Parenthood believes that reproductive rights are deeply connected to LGBTQ rights… Its affiliates now provide hormone treatments for transgender people in 26 centers across 10 states.”

As if its culture of death weren’t enough, the group’s tentacles are expanding to America’s sexual crisis. All the more reason for Congress to finish the job it started last fall and cut off Planned Parenthood’s funding at the source: the federal government. [Today], all eyes will be on the U.S. House, as they try to do exactly that. Through a reconciliation bill months in the making, GOP leaders will be able to fulfill a promise they made to voters when they won the majority — sending a bill to the president’s desk that not only rolls back major portions of ObamaCare but also comes close to zeroing out Planned Parenthood’s federal funding. You can be a part of pushing H.R. 3762 over the finish line by urging your congressman to vote yes! Click here to help Congress make history.

Originally published here.

In 2016, Liberty or Libertine?

If you’re wondering what matters to voters heading into this year’s presidential election, listen to the candidates. If they care about winning, this is one of the rare times when politicians will actually travel the country and pay attention to Americans’ concerns. Obviously, polling has its place, but the best barometer of the nation’s priorities is what’s coming out of the candidates’ mouths — not the media’s.

And lately, there’s been one recurring theme in almost every GOP campaign: religious liberty. The conservative field, which senses the country’s unease on the subject, is tripping over itself to speak on religious freedom – whether it’s in response to the persecution of Christians in the Middle East or the hostility toward faith here at home. That’s no accident. In a revealing new survey, Americans are almost unanimously united over the importance of the country’s First Freedom. If you think the president’s party disagrees, think again! Despite their deep divides on other issues, Republicans and Democrats share plenty of common ground here. A whopping 82 percent of Americans said religious liberty protections are important for Christians. Slightly above that average, 88 percent of Republicans agreed – with Democrats just five points behind at 83 percent.

No wonder Secretary Hillary Clinton is talking about the genocide of Christians overseas! Everyone but President Obama seems to understand the threat to America’s most basic freedom. In one of the more interesting pieces of the poll, voters are obviously picking up on the ominous times for faith. Whereas 75 percent had confidence in the government to defend religious liberty in 2011, that trust has all but vanished since. Only 55 percent of the country has faith in the government to protect that freedom today. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why. In four years, we’ve seen sportscasters fired, county clerks jailed, teachers suspended, CEOs sacked, bakers harassed, florists fined, and chaplains reprimanded. Why? Because the government was no longer guarding their beliefs. It was attacking them. When one of the GOP candidates declared 2016 a “religious liberty election,” he meant it. So, it seems, do the majority of voters.

Originally published here.