In a letter sent to supporters by e-mail on the day after Republicans were swept in as the new majority in the House of Representatives and gained seats in the Senate, Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards used the election results to press for an "emergency donation" to help fight against "dangerous politicians who oppose women's health and the right to choose."
"Even before yesterday's election, women's health was under attack," Richards wrote in the e-mail, which was sent on Nov. 3. "Anti-choice Republicans like Congressman Mike Pence from Indiana have introduced legislation to defund Planned Parenthood."
"That's the frightening reality we face, and it's only going to get worse," Richards wrote.
According to the last annual report made public by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America for Fiscal Year 2007-2008, the organization received $349.6 million in government grants and contracts.
Pence (R-Ind.) was one of 31 Republicans who ordered a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) seeking the total amount of federal funding used by Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups, including the Guttmacher Institute, the Population Council, Advocates for Youth, the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS).
The GAO report, released in May, states that the combined total in federal dollars spent by those organizations from FY 2002-2009 was $967.1 million – $657.1 million of that is listed as expenditures of federal funds for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
The International Planned Parenthood Federation, according to the GAO, reported spending $3.9 million in federal funds over those fiscal years (2002-2009); the Guttmacher Institute, $12.7 million; the Population Council, $284.3 million; SIECUS, $300,000; and Advocates for Youth, $8.7 million.
In January 2009, Pence introduced legislation that would amend the Public Health Service Act to prohibit "providing any federal family planning assistance to an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of such assistance, the entity will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion."
The proposed law makes exceptions for abortions performed in the cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.
The bill, H.R. 614, was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, a committee that could soon be chaired by Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) when the Republicans officially take control of the House in January. Barton, now the ranking member of that committee, also signed on to the GAO report request.
Richards' e-mail donation pitch included a personal pledge: "I promise you this: Planned Parenthood will never stop caring for women, and we will never stop fighting for their rights. No matter what happened yesterday, I know that today thousands of women, men, and teens will get the care they need at Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers."
The e-mail included two links to make a credit card donation to Planned Parenthood.
Contact: Penny Starr
Source: CNSNews.com
Publish Date: November 8, 2010
