Despite how polling shows that majorities of Americans are opposed to funding elective abortion, especially those taking place overseas, federal dollars were spent on abortion advocacy groups to the tune of at least $1.89 billion over the course of just three years, from 2019-2021. This is according to a comprehensive GAO report, commissioned by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who co-chairs the Pro-Life Caucus. The report was released on Tuesday. Those groups mentioned included Planned Parenthood affiliates, four domestic regional organizations, International Planned Parenthood Federation, and MSI Reproductive Choices from 2019 through 2021.
Planned Parenthood and domestic regional organizations received an overwhelming majority of that funding, to the tune of $1.78 billion and $107.74 million, respectively. The international pro-abortion groups, though, International Planned Parenthood Federation and MSI Reproductive Choices still received $2.03 million and $1.35 million, respectively, though. MSI Reproductive Choices did not receive funding for 2020 and 2021, though.
Those numbers come off as even more staggering given that a January 2023 Knights of Columbus/Marist poll found that 60 percent of Americans oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortions, with a significant 78 percent saying they oppose using tax dollars to pay for such abortions in other countries.
As to how Planned Parenthood affiliates earned what comes out to be on average $592 federal dollars each year, the GAO report explains that sources includes "Grant awards or cooperative agreements;" "Public health coverage programs," which includes Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP; and "COVID-19-related funding," which included The Provider Relief Fund and The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
A topline summary of the report from the offices of Blackburn and Smith provided to Townhall spoke to issues with Planned Parenthood being able to receive such funding such as through PPP loans:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Planned Parenthood received $90.4 million in forgiven Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Congress intended these PPP funds to assist truly independent small businesses with less than 500 employees. Pro-life Members had informed the Small Business Administration that Planned Parenthood affiliates, with over 16,000 employees nationwide, were ineligible for PPP funding because Planned Parenthood’s corporate office supervises and controls its affiliates, providing considerable funding and support.
A statement from the senator spoke critically about funding the abortion giant, including and especially with PPP loans.
"It is appalling that big abortion providers are continuing to receive billions of dollars in federal taxpayer funding. While small businesses struggled to make ends meet during the pandemic, Planned Parenthood illegally siphoned over $90 million from the Paycheck Protection Program, specifically designed to help our mom and pop shops keep their doors open," Blackburn said. "The American people want their tax dollars spent responsibly and in line with our nation’s values — not on the Left’s abortion-on-demand agenda. I will never stop fighting to protect the unborn and end taxpayer-funded support for the abortion industry."
Smith also called out Planned Parenthood benefiting from COVID funding.
"GAO found that Planned Parenthood received a whopping $1.78 billion between 2019-2021 while the nation was struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic," the congressman pointed out. "This included $90.14 million in forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program—money that could have gone to struggling small businesses, many of which were forced to close."
When it comes to how money could be better spent, though, it wasn't just beneficiaries of PPP loans, as Smith also highlighted. "Federal taxpayer dollars should not be funneled to big abortion corporations like Planned Parenthood, which has killed over 9.3 million unborn children since 1970, including 1.11 million between 2019-2021," the congressman continued. "This money would have been better spent helping the businesses that were forced to close or providing comprehensive medical support for both women and children."
How much funding the abortion advocacy groups depended largely on who was in office. Not only was there a change in administrations in the middle of the time frame that the report studied, from former President Donald Trump to current President Joe Biden, but a considerable change in abortion policy.
The GAO report makes mention of the Title X Family Planning Program regulation from 2019 under the Trump administration, which was rescinded by the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) in November 2021, after Biden took office. As the report mentions:
Administered by the Office of Population Affairs within HHS, Title X of the Public Health Service Act provides grants to public and nonprofit agencies for family planning services, research, and training. By statute, Title X funds may not be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning. In May 2019, HHS issued a final rule also prohibiting organizations receiving Title X funding from promoting, referring for, or supporting abortion as a method of family planning. Effective November 2021, HHS revoked the requirements of the 2019 regulation.
Title X funding accounted for Planned Parenthood's second largest source of federal funding under the Obama administration, second only to Medicaid reimbursements, as the topline summary pointed out. It's worth reminding that Planned Parenthood could have kept its Title X funding, had it agreed to no longer perform abortions, though the abortion giant insisted it keep doing so.
"However, Planned Parenthood was so committed to its abortion agenda that it refused to comply and forfeited Title X funding under the Trump Administration. The GAO found that Planned Parenthood’s refusal “led almost all affiliates to discontinue using family planning grants under Title X” during 2020 and 2021," the topline summary noted with original emphasis.
The same goes for the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA) program issued as a memorandum in January 2017 and implemented in May 2017, although that too was rescinded:
The policy applied to all global health assistance implemented by all U.S. government departments or agencies, and required foreign nongovernmental organizations to agree, as a condition of receiving this funding, that they would not perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning or provide financial support to any foreign nongovernmental organizations that conduct such activities. The Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy was rescinded in January 2021.
The same policy existed for PLGHA, in that those groups who did not receive funding chose to do so when they remained committed to abortion. "PLGHA did not reduce the amount of federal funding available for global health and family planning programs. Organizations could choose to give up their abortion activities and continue to receive U.S. grant money, or they could forfeit U.S. grant money if they continue to engage in abortion," the topline summary noted as well.
The Biden administration continues to make promoting abortion and abortion funding a top priority.
As the topline summary also noted, "Between 2021 and 2022, the Biden Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services to Planned Parenthood increased obligations to Planned Parenthood from $5.71 million to $27.06 million," which is an increase of a whopping 373 percent.
Such pro-abortion priorities exist at the international level, too. October marked the third anniversary of the Geneva Consensus Declaration (GCD), which affirms not only women's health, the right to life, and the importance of family, but the national sovereignty of each nation to promote these values in accordance with its own laws and policies. Biden quickly pulled out of the pro-life and pro-national sovereignty declaration, though pro-life lawmakers continue to call on the administration to rejoin. Smith was even one of the co-chairs of the GCD.
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