Planned Profiting: Abortion Biz Rakes in Taxpayer Cash
Breaking the law doesn’t help your chances for earning federal dollars – but apparently, it doesn’t hurt them either! If there’s one thing Planned Parenthood’s learned over the last few years, it’s that crime does pay.
Breaking the law doesn’t help your chances for earning federal dollars — but apparently, it doesn’t hurt them either! If there’s one thing Planned Parenthood’s learned over the last few years, it’s that crime does pay. A lot, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Despite piles of evidence (some of it from the group’s own mouth) that Cecile Richards’s group was illegally selling baby body parts (after performing equally illegal late-term abortions), a new report shows the wrongdoing hasn’t made the slightest dent in its taxpayer-funded gravy train — at least on the federal level.
On the contrary, GAO officials found, being referred for criminal prosecution didn’t result in so much as a financial blip for Richards and company. Between 2013-15, Planned Parenthood, its international affiliates, and Marie Stopes International dug deep into taxpayers’ pockets, banking a whopping $1.5 billion from federal and state programs like Medicaid, Medicare, Title X, and CHIP. But even more amazingly, four of the five Planned Parenthood locations that raked in the most money are the same ones under investigation by the FBI: Planned Parenthood offices in Mar Monte ($229 million), Los Angeles ($106 million), Pacific Southwest ($105 million), and Northern California ($104 million).
The news disgusted a number of House conservatives, many of whom were part of the select panel a couple of years later that referred the organization to the Justice Department. Obviously, it’s offensive that taxpayers are forced to fund anyone that performs abortion — but we certainly shouldn’t fund the groups that break the law doing it! Live Action president Lila Rose can’t understand why Democrats don’t agree.
This should not be a partisan issue. Even those politicians who support abortion should be honest enough to admit that taxpayers shouldn’t be funding an organization embroiled in such barbaric and likely criminal acts — especially when there are federally-qualified health centers where the money could be redirected to help more people. DaVinci Biosciences, one of Planned Parenthood’s partners in the baby organ trade, has already admitted to breaking federal law.
Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), who along with fellow Tennessean Marsha Blackburn (R) has been leading the fight to defund Planned Parenthood, is absolutely sickened by this betrayal of taxpayers’ trust. “Industry giants like Planned Parenthood perform more than 320,000 abortions every year, and this GAO report exposes that these atrocities are done at the expense of taxpayers…. Abortion is not family planning,” she added. “Abortion is family destruction, and the fact that $1.5 billion in taxpayer dollars is funneled to this industry is sickening. The American people deserve better.”
Most agree. Only 36 percent of the country thinks taxpayers should be forced to foot the bill for abortion. But I’m willing to bet that even they wouldn’t approve of sending that money to an organization that’s believed to have broken a long list of federal and state laws.
As for Republicans, this report ought to light another fire under Congress to ramp up its push to defund Planned Parenthood. If Democrats want to stop the GOP, let them stand in front of voters and own it. President Trump has done what he can internationally and through executive order. He needs the House and Senate to do the rest.
Originally published here.
Christian Club Paves the Wayne for Freedom
Every club at Wayne State University gets to choose its own leaders, Greg Piper pointed out. Except one. Can you guess which? Try the school’s Christian InterVarsity chapter.
By now, most of us aren’t surprised to hear that higher education is intentionally targeting evangelicals. We’ve watched it happen at college campuses all across America — from Ivy Leagues like Harvard to schools like Wayne State. Usually, their stories are the same. Students dare to pick their leaders based on shared beliefs. No one would dream of asking sororities to accept men or secular groups to admit people of faith. But for some reason, it’s perfectly acceptable to demand that Christians accept members who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus.
Amazingly, InterVarsity has been a part of Wayne University for the better part of a century and has never been ordered to accept non-Christians. That all changed in October when InterVarsity was told that it was violating the school’s “nondiscrimination” code. Christina Garza, the chapter president at the time, asked why Greek life wasn’t punished for violating the policy, since, by the school’s definition, it practices sex discrimination. The coordinator for student life replied it was essentially allowed to disregard that rule.
Shortly after the controversy started, the university withdrew its recognition of the group, meaning that it no longer enjoys any of the benefits of an official club — like free meeting space, advertising, website listings, and even campus funding. On Tuesday, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty sued the school on InterVarsity’s behalf. In the complaint, Becket argues: “It is not clear that this portion of the code applies to student organizations, since they are private organizations not run by Wayne State… ‘However, Wayne State’s current position is that it applies to the Chapter’ but not the multitudes of other recognized clubs that ‘openly place limitations on both membership and leadership,’ including a new fraternity ‘Wayne State was advertising.’”
Ironically, Becket went on, Wayne State is “actively violat[ing] its own policy in many of its programs” and “should focus on educating students instead of playing belief police.” Less than 48 hours later, Wayne State started thinking twice about targeting Christians. Fox News announced that “After a review of the situation and communicating with the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship organization, Wayne State has decided to recertify the group as an official student organization.” How’s that for a success story? This is what happens when we refuse to go away, when we stand and fight for our freedom. Congratulations to Becket and the courageous students of InterVarsity!
Originally published here.
Texas Rounds Up More Support for Privacy
Both parties are still pouring over what happened in Texas on Tuesday, but the biggest story may be the one nobody’s talking about. The liberal media likes to say that the bathroom debate is much ado about nothing. Fake news! In reality, voters are in more agreement on bathroom privacy than a lot of other issues.
In our election round-up, I mentioned that Texans finally had the ability to voice their opinion in the gender-free lunacy some liberals are pushing. And the intensity of their feelings might surprise you. In case you’re unfamiliar with the process, Texans vote on a series of precinct convention resolutions that help shape the parties’ priorities. This week, they had a chance to speak up on a number of issues, including privacy. In proposition #6, they were asked to agree or disagree with this statement: “Texas should protect the privacy and safety of women and children in spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers in all Texas schools and government buildings.” Ninety percent said yes. That’s an incredible level of consensus on any topic, let alone one like that.
To understand just how significant that number is, consider this. Texans were also asked to weigh in with their opinion on health care. When they cast ballots on proposition #9 — "Texas demands that Congress completely repeal Obamacare" — 86 percent said yes. That’s four points lower than proposition #6. That means more people agree with privacy protections than even overturning Obamacare! More voters are concerned about men in girls’ restrooms, changing rooms, and showers than one of the biggest and most expensive legislative failures of the century! Republicans across the country would be wise to stop and consider what this means for debates in places like North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas. Regardless of what Big Business threatens or how celebrities mock and malign, protecting privacy in the face of the gender lunacy that is being forced on Americans isn’t just a priority issue for conservatives — it’s a winning one.
Originally published here.
FRC in the Spotlight
Donald Trump has gotten farther than any other president in confronting North Korea. His bold, uncompromising approach might even bring Kim Jung-un to the table for nuclear negotiations. Thursday night, FRC’s Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin (U.S. Army-Ret.) joined Fox News to talk about these latest developments. Check it out below.
Originally published here.
This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.
