A Planned Parenthood spokeswoman confirmed abortions will be provided in a clinic of each affiliate in the country, The Daily Caller reported. A waiver may be acquired, however, in the case of "unique local circumstances," said Lisa David, a senior vice president for the organization.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America has 95 affiliates and 865 health centers, according to its latest annual report, which covers the 2008-09 fiscal year. Under the new rules, at least one clinic per affiliate must perform abortions, a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman told The Daily Caller.
The 2008-09 report showed Planned Parenthood received $363.2 million in government grants and contracts during the year. Its affiliates performed more than 324,000 abortions in 2008, the latest year for which statistics are available.
News about Planned Parenthood's new requirement broke when its affiliate in Corpus Christi, Texas, withdrew from the organization and changed its name. The affiliate became Family Planning of the Coastal Bend on Jan. 1, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Amanda Stukenberg, chief executive officer of the Corpus Christi chapter, said the affiliate had never provided abortions because local doctors performed them.
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Pro-life blogger Jill Stanek, a former nurse whose testimony helped in passage of the Born-alive Infants Protection Act in 2002, wrote, "I imagine that inside the industry, abortion wars are breaking out even as I type, as PP makes a major power play to wipe out independent abortion mills.
"This is huge, devastating for babies. Statistics bear out that the more abortion mills there are, the more abortions there are."
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood continues to lose funding from corporations. Kohl's and Mrs. Fields are the two latest companies to stop their donations to Planned Parenthood, LifeNews.com reported Jan. 3. The announcement came from Life Decisions International (LDI), which tracks corporate giving to Planned Parenthood and publishes a boycott list of corporations that support the organization. The list may be ordered for a fee.
The announcement about the two companies follows the best six-month period in LDI's history.
"ore corporations have been removed from the boycott list between the July 2010 and December 2010 lists than have ever been dropped in the past," LDI President Douglas Scott said, according to a Dec. 10 report by LifeNews.
Ten companies were dropped during the last six months, Scott said. They included Enterprise car rentals, Toys "R" Us, Forbes magazine and Rolex, LifeNews reported.
Normally two or three companies per six-month period announce they have withdrawn their support from Planned Parenthood, Scott said.
More than 270 corporations have halted donations to Planned Parenthood, according to LDI. The pro-life organization had its genesis in Scott's founding in 1989 of a project to inform corporate leaders of Planned Parenthood's abortion business. It incorporated as LDI in 1992.
The affiliates of Planned Parenthood Federation of America performed more than 324,000 abortions in 2008, the latest year for which statistics are available. Its 2008-09 report showed Planned Parenthood received $363.2 million in government grants and contracts during the year.
Tom Strode is Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press.
Copyright (c) 2011 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net
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