Planned Parenthood Should be Defunded Permanently

Americans should not be forced to fund the politically and ideologically-driven abortion behemoth that is Planned Parenthood (PP). PP should be blocked permanently from receiving a dime of taxpayer funding.

While falling short of fully defunding the organization, the recent vote by the US Congress to withhold funding to Planned Parenthood for a full year is a step in the right direction. In a desperate attempt to hold on to the taxpayer funding, Planned Parenthood has filed suit in a delaying tactic that is unlikely to succeed.

A February, 2025 New York Times article exposed the substandard care to be found at Planned Parenthood. While PP attempts to blame a lack of funding for the low quality of services, there is little question that the organization prioritizes political activism over high quality health care. According to the article, the number of patients they see today has dropped 60% since the 1990’s from a high of 5 million patients served across 900 clinics to 2.1 million patients and 600 clinics.  Staff members complain in the article that patient care is compromised by low salaries, chronic understaffing, high turnover, inadequate training and aging facilities. The full NY Times article is here.

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Facts on the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA):

The founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, had deep roots in the racist, eugenics movements of the past, including direct ties to University of Vermont Professor Henry Perkins who promoted the targeting of poor and minority populations for elimination through government run, involuntary sterilization programs. This terrible chapter of Vermont history is well-documented here: Vermont’s eugenic program.

Planned Parenthood has never apologized for their founder’s promotion of eugenics and Sanger’s desire to “eliminate” certain populations. Sanger famously stated in her book, Woman and the New Race, “the most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.”

That same eugenic thread runs through the Planned Parenthood of today. It is well documented that poor minority women have abortions at a disproportionally higher rate than white women. Black women have the highest abortion rates, followed by Hispanic women, while white women have the lowest rates. Planned Parenthood is known for locating their clinics in neighborhoods where people of color and people who are impoverished live. Click here.

In 2024, PPFA affiliates received nearly $800 million in taxpayer funding and aborted a record 400,000 unborn babies in that same year. PPFA itself raises hundreds of millions but spends no money on medical services and exists largely to promote and protect unlimited, unregulated access to abortion. According to Planned Parenthood’s Political Action fund, an additional $69.5 million was spent, in part, to try elect pro-abortion presidential candidate Kamala Harris and others in 2024.

Reinforcing that PPFA is about abortion not about health care, the organization fired Leana Wen, MD, the CEO who attempted to broaden the organization’s focus beyond abortion. Dr. Leana Wen, who was only the second medical doctor hired to head the organization, was forced out after less than a year. Read more here. Dr. Wen was replaced by abortion-rights activist, Alexis McGill Johnson. But perhaps the most famous CEO/President of PPFA was the late Cecile Richards who famously proclaimed that her goal was to turn Planned Parenthood into “the largest kick–butt political organization.”

Planned Parenthood of Vermont

Planned Parenthood has managed for decades to insert their radical sex education programs into the state’s public school system claiming to be “experts” in sexuality.  However, PP of VT’s views on what is age-appropriate for children would be objectionable to most parents if they knew what was being taught in schools. PP takes advantage of their access to young students to promote their services.

Most recently PP of VT worked to pass legislation that forces our schools to provide condoms to middle school students as young as 12. And when those condoms fail, kids can head to Planned Parenthood clinics without involving parents. Planned Parenthood of Vermont has had a history of disturbing behavior and public scandals dating back to the late 1980’s as documented here.

While the Vermont legislature recently apologized for the misguided, state-sponsored, eugenic programs of the past, the Vermont legislature has never requested an apology from Planned Parenthood of Vermont for their association with eugenic promoters. Quite the opposite. In fact, Planned Parenthood’s agenda has recently been the first order of legislative business, especially under the leadership of the current Speaker of the House, Jill Krowinski, who was once an executive employee of PP of VT.

Planned Parenthood has also diverted funds from their health care services to their political arm, Planned Parenthood of Vermont Action Fund.

Planned Parenthood of Vermont:

• Actively opposes legislation aimed at protecting pregnant women from those who engage in criminal activity resulting in the loss of the life of their unborn child, even though the “Crimes against an unborn child” legislation specifically exempts abortion. Senate bill here.
• Actively opposes any proposed legislation requiring the notification of a parent of a minor daughter seeking an abortion, leaving parents in the dark and potentially allowing sexual predators to force a minor into an abortion in order to cover his crime.

In 2024, they lobbied in support of lowering the standard of medical care in order to increase access to chemical abortion drugs despite evidence of harm to women without protective guidelines. Their support of the bill (S28) gives the lie to the premise that PP is concerned about women’s health. While claiming to offer “high quality healthcare services” everyone knows PP of VT clinics specialize in providing abortions and operates without physicians on their premises.

In 2023, they lobbied for legislation to give the pro-abortion Attorney General of Vermont, Charity Clark, the power to shut down Vermont’s non-profit, privately-funded organizations that offer alternatives to abortion and provide pregnancy support. PP of VT does not offer pre-natal care on any of their Vermont premises and refers girls and women elsewhere if they choose to carry their babies to term.

In 2023 Planned Parenthood lobbied for passage of S.37 (Act 15) to ensure unlimited, unregulated abortion in Vermont and to expand their services to states across the country. Very specifically the law allows PP of VT to provide abortion services, as well as transgender hormones, to minors and others in states outside of Vermont – even in states that have laws in place to protect minors (i.e. New Hampshire, Louisiana, Florida and many others).

From 2018 through 2022, they led the fight for passage of Article 22, a constitutional amendment to secure abortion rights throughout pregnancy – even though that right was already secured by prior court order (1972 Beecham vs Leahy) and by statute (Act 47 in 2019). Planned Parenthood of Vermont’s Ballot Committee spent $1.4 million in 2022 to assure passage of the radical abortion amendment.

In 2024 PP lobbied again to protect and expand their ongoing involvement in the distribution of cross-sex hormones to young people experiencing “gender dysphoria.” It has recently been reported that nationwide Planned Parenthood is the second largest provider of the dangerous drugs. For more information on PP of VT’s involvement in dispensing cross-sex hormones click here.

Both nationally as well as here in Vermont, Planned Parenthood uses bullying tactics to force compliance with their political agenda, demanding 100 % support of their extreme agenda from the candidates they endorse. Legislators who support even modest proposals – such as notifying a parent of a minor before a surgical or medical abortion is performed (as most other states require) or legislation that would ensure that proper protocols are in place for the safety of girls and women – will be targeted for defeat by PP and labelled “anti-abortion.”

Any organization with an agenda this radical and political should never again have access to our tax dollars. Readers should be aware, however, that the current Vermont legislature, along Governor Phil Scott, may well have the votes to grant PP of VT even more of our state tax dollars to make up for the cuts in federal funding.

Planned Parenthood in Vermont, nationwide and worldwide has an enormous fundraising capability and can raise private funds from their millionaire and billionaire friends who share their extreme ideology.

With our entire health care system in crisis, Planned Parenthood should not be on any list for taxpayer funding.

LifeNews Note: Mary Beerworth is the executive director of Vermont Right to Life.This column originally appeared at the Vermont Daily Chronicle.

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