President Donald Trump has offered to let Planned Parenthood keep its federal funding—on one condition: they must stop offering abortion services.
Trump explained, in an interview to the New York Times, that he’s providing “an opportunity for organizations to continue the important work they do in support of women’s health, while not providing abortion services.”
Basically, since abortion providers like Planned Parenthood often claim that abortion is just one of the many services they offer—and that their primary focus is actually important health services, like women’s cancer screenings—Trump’s offering them a chance to put their money where their mouth is.
Currently, groups like Planned Parenthood do receive federal funds, but are forbidden for spending them on abortion services. Planned Parenthood alone receives a whopping $500 million per year in taxpayer funds.
Planned Parenthood, unsurprisingly, did not take kindly to Trump’s proposal.
In a statement, Planned Parenthood head, Cecile Richards, said that the organization “will always stand for women’s ability to make decisions about their health and lives, without interference from politicians.”
Simply put: Planned Parenthood would not stop offering abortions, even if it meant the end of federal funding.
Despite being the biggest name in abortion politics, Planned Parenthood has long downplayed the number of abortions they provide—famously saying that abortions are only 3% of the procedures they provide. But that 3% number involves some trick accounting, since Planned Parenthood considers a “procedure” to be any service they offer—even as minor as a patient receiving contraceptives. So if a woman comes in solely to get an abortion, she’ll likely have multiple “procedures” as part of the process.
Privately, Richards has been reportedly panicked over the idea that Planned Parenthood could collapse altogether if it were to lose its federal funding. She was quoted as saying that many doctors and patients are “terrified” that defunding the abortion giant could mean the end of abortion in America.
