Why Planned Parenthood should be defunded

By quinersdiner | October 30, 2012

By Jenifer Bowen

The Des Moines Register recently ran a news piece slamming Mitt Romney’s plan to defund Planned Parenthood (“Why it matters,” Oct. 25). Planned Parenthood should be defunded. Here’s why:

• Planned Parenthood duplicates services offered by county health. With overhead costs, this is an inefficient use of taxpayer funds.

• Planned Parenthood pressures Title 19 low-income women to donate for services and charges for pregnancy tests and other services that can be obtained at other clinics for free.

• Planned Parenthood’s billing is questionable. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, which also manages Iowa, was recently dropped from an Oklahoma Department of Health program because of Planned Parenthood’s “high cost per participant, along with faulty billing practices.”

Here in Iowa, Planned Parenthood still faces a $28 million Medicaid fraud lawsuit by a former Planned Parenthood manager. Among the allegations: Planned Parenthood purchased birth control packets for $2.98, then billed Medicaid $35 for those packets.

• Planned Parenthood has a history of dishonesty. Earlier this year, the Register quoted spokesperson Shelby Cloke saying that Planned Parenthood received $8,000 from the Quad Cities Susan G. Komen organization for services including “low- or no-cost mammograms.” Planned Parenthood does not have, nor has it ever provided mammograms, here in Iowa or anywhere in the U.S. President Obama repeated this falsehood in the presidential debates.

Planned Parenthood’s “abortion prevention” claim is a sham. Here in Iowa, Planned Parenthood has expanded abortion locations from seven to 16 in the past four years and now aborts an average of 13 Iowans a day.

• Planned Parenthood is biased, spending millions to defeat mostly Republicans. According to OpenSecrets.org, Planned Parenthood has already spent $45,000 in 2012 in Iowa alone against one Republican candidate.

Mitt Romney is right to demand the defunding of Planned Parenthood.

[This letter appeared in this morning’s Des Moines Register. Thanks to Jenifer Bowen, executive director, Iowa Right to Life, for permission to reprint it at Quiner’s Diner.]

Posted in Politics, Pro-Life and tagged Planned Parenthood of the Heartland

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5 Comments

Shawn Pavlik on October 30, 2012 at 10:16 am

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Tom, and once again being an advocate for those who have no voice, the preborn.

quinersdiner on October 30, 2012 at 10:18 am

Thanks for reading and commenting.

Jeane Bishop on October 30, 2012 at 11:59 am

Great article, Jennifer. Thanks for writing and Tom, thanks for including it here.

For more information on this topic readers may be interested in reading Planned Bullyhood: The Truth Behind the Headlines about the Planned Parenthood Funding Battle with Susan G. Komen for the Cure by Karen Handel.

I finished this book last night and was amazed at the infiltration of this organization (Planned Parenthood). When the author was in town a couple weeks ago, she shared that she thinks Cecile Richards (head of Planned Parenthood) has her own stool in the oval office. She spends so much time there “advising” the president.

Cecile has had an especially busy year derailing religious freedom with her deep involvement with crafting of the HHS mandate, attempting to destroy Susan G. Komen when they sought to reorganize their granting structure to be more in line with their own mission. And, of course, Cecile is now busy (at taxpayers expense) campaigning for Obama.

God bless you both Jennifer and Tom.
Thanks for your good work.

quinersdiner on October 30, 2012 at 12:06 pm

Thanks for writing, Jeane. Pray hard for this election. The preborn need our prayers.

irishsignora on October 31, 2012 at 6:20 am

Mr. Quiner, thank you for sharing this article, which neatly summarizes several of the arguments I’ve made to PP’s supporters since the whole Komen kerfuffle. Peace be with you; I join you in praying for our nation for many reasons. — Kelly

Shawn Pavlik on October 30, 2012 at 10:16 am

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Tom, and once again being an advocate for those who have no voice, the preborn.
- quinersdiner on October 30, 2012 at 10:18 am
  
  Thanks for reading and commenting.
Jeane Bishop on October 30, 2012 at 11:59 am

Great article, Jennifer. Thanks for writing and Tom, thanks for including it here.

For more information on this topic readers may be interested in reading Planned Bullyhood: The Truth Behind the Headlines about the Planned Parenthood Funding Battle with Susan G. Komen for the Cure by Karen Handel.

I finished this book last night and was amazed at the infiltration of this organization (Planned Parenthood). When the author was in town a couple weeks ago, she shared that she thinks Cecile Richards (head of Planned Parenthood) has her own stool in the oval office. She spends so much time there “advising” the president.

Cecile has had an especially busy year derailing religious freedom with her deep involvement with crafting of the HHS mandate, attempting to destroy Susan G. Komen when they sought to reorganize their granting structure to be more in line with their own mission. And, of course, Cecile is now busy (at taxpayers expense) campaigning for Obama.

God bless you both Jennifer and Tom.
Thanks for your good work.
- quinersdiner on October 30, 2012 at 12:06 pm
  
  Thanks for writing, Jeane. Pray hard for this election. The preborn need our prayers.
irishsignora on October 31, 2012 at 6:20 am

Mr. Quiner, thank you for sharing this article, which neatly summarizes several of the arguments I’ve made to PP’s supporters since the whole Komen kerfuffle. Peace be with you; I join you in praying for our nation for many reasons. — Kelly