It’s Time to Defund Planned Parenthood

 

It is hard to believe that the 2018 March for Life is just four months away.

We hope you will be joining us on Friday, January 19th, 2018 in Washington, D.C. for the 45th annual March for Life!

As you begin planning your trip, be sure to download the 2018 Trip Planner! This guide contains helpful travel information, maps, event details, and more! Click the image below to download the Trip Planner.

Below are a few other items to note:

• Our hotel room block is now open for groups requesting five or more rooms. Individual reservations will open in mid-October.
  Click HERE for more hotel info.
• Registration for the March for Life Conference (Thursday, January 18, 9:00 a.m. – noon) is now open. Click HERE for more info.
• Registration for the March for Life Youth Rally (Thursday, January 18, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) is now open. Click HERE for more info.

We hope you’ll join us at the March for Life on Friday, January 19th, 2018 to make a stand for life!

 

You can’t go far without hearing or seeing an advertisement with the message about how the world will fall apart if Planned Parenthood is defunded. This is obviously an exaggeration, but the question is, what is the real story?

The most recent annual report from abortion-giant Planned Parenthood revealed that in 2015, the organization collected over $554 million in “Government Health Services Reimbursements & Grants.” This is money that federal, state, and local taxpayers provided to the largest abortion provider in the United States, and organization that during that timeframe, aborted more than 328,000 babies.

>>>> Read more in “6 Things You Need to Know in Planned Parenthood’s Annual Report.

This is especially bothersome when you consider that nearly two-thirds of Americans oppose their hard-earned tax dollars being used to fund organizations that perform or support abortion. Moreover, scandals and controversies have plagued Planned Parenthood for years, including the more recent fetal body parts trafficking exposed by the Center for Medical Progress. After investigating the Congressional Select Investigative Panel made 15 criminal and regulatory referrals of tissue procurement, and the Senate Judiciary Committee made 7 criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.

>>>> Learn more and demand that the Justice Department investigate Planned Parenthood!

Thankfully, many state and local governments are appalled that their money is being used in this way and are searching for solutions to end this taxpayer funded termination of children. Just this past Friday, the state of South Carolina joined those efforts when Governor Henry McMaster signed an Executive Order that stops all federal and state tax dollars from going to Planned Parenthood facilities.

>>>> Check out Jeanne Mancini’s op-ed in The Hill on South Carolina’s defunding of Planned Parenthood.

Again, Planned Parenthood is claiming that such actions will bankrupt the organization and they will have to close facilities and offer fewer services to women most in need. But this is just not true. Here are the facts.

1) Nationally there are twenty life-affirming, comprehensive women’s health centers for every one Planned Parenthood, and in South Carolina that increases to a whopping 123 federally qualified health centers to every one Planned Parenthood.

>>>> Check out the chart from Alliance Defending Freedom mapping out real choices for women.

2) Will Planned Parenthood go bankrupt if the organization stops receiving taxpayer dollars? Not only does Planned Parenthood take in a significant amount of federal funding each year, they reported $1.3 billion in annual revenues last year, with their CEO bringing in in close to a million dollars a year in salary. They are supported by billion dollar organizations such as ExxonMobil, Nike, American Express, General Electric, Starbucks, Unilever and Microsoft (in total there are over a hundred major companies that give money to the abortion giant).

The well-heeled connections do not stop there. Since the 2016 election, numerous celebrities have channeled their election angst into donations for the nation’s largest abortion provider. Lena Dunham (annual earnings $6 million), Samantha Bee (annual earnings $2.5 million), Hillary Clinton (average annual earnings of $32 million), singer John Legend (annual earnings $46 million) and Lady Gaga ($59 million in 2015) are just a few of the well-to-do celebs who donate and fundraise for Planned Parenthood.

In fact, private donations make up 33% of Planned Parenthood’s revenue. And these celebrities sometimes inspire their parent companies to donate as well. Recently, when Allison Janey gave a PR shout out of support to the abortion giant the owners of her television show, the multi-billion dollar entertainment conglomerate Warner Brothers, offered to match all donations to Planned Parenthood made through a link the actress had set up. (The promotion ended on August 28^th.)

This is just the tip of the iceberg demonstrating that Planned Parenthood does not need taxpayer support. Furthermore, from large anonymous donations of $6.5 million, to the actions of smaller companies, consumers will have a hard and disheartening shopping experience to avoid buying from companies that financially support Planned Parenthood.

You want to buy lipstick? That money might go to Planned Parenthood. An App for emojis? Your money might go to Planned Parenthood. Going to an art show? That money might go to Planned Parenthood. Even the beer industry is directing money to support an organization that profits from deception and taking the lives of unborn children. It’s pretty clear that Planned Parenthood’s cries of financial hardship are anything but that.

So the question remains – why, when we have a self-proclaimed pro-life Congress and Administration, are hundreds of millions of government money still going to subsidize the largest abortion provider in the country? 

At the 2017 March for Life, Vice President Mike Pence said “this Administration will work with Congress to end taxpayer funding of abortion and abortion providers. And we will devote those resources to health care services for women across America.”

It is high time that Congress lives up to its promise of defunding the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, and redirecting that money to real choices for women.

 

With the back to school season in full gear, it’s time to brush up on a few important science facts!

WATCH this brief clip and read more below for 5 important (and amazing!) facts about fetal development:

1. Life begins at fertilization.

The question of when life begins is not a philosophical one – it is settled science. At the moment of fertilization, a new, unique individual is created.

“For over 100 years, human embryology has stated that in sexual reproduction a new, whole, individual, living human being begins to exist at the beginning of the process of fertilization, i.e. at “first contact” between the sperm and the oocyte (“egg”).”

>>>> Learn more about human embryology from the science-education non-profit Contend Project.

 

2. Week 3: baby’s heart begins to beat.

Only 3 weeks and 1 day after fertilization – the heart begins to beat. And here’s an amazing fact – between fertilization and birth, the heart beats approximately 54 million times!

A new mobile app (along with an add-on device) now allows expectant moms to hear their baby’s heartbeat using their phone!

>>>> A new app will let you hear your baby’s heartbeat whenever you want. Here’s how the amazing technology works.

 

3. Week 6: brain activity begins.

At just six weeks and two days, an embryo has developed brainwaves!

4. Week 8: fingers and toes form.

Between five and seven and a half weeks, development of hands and feet occurs. By eight weeks, distinct fingers and toes exist.

 

5. Week 9: yawning begins!

During the ninth week, a fetus will start to routinely yawn. This is also when vocal cords are developing and the first sign of eye movement is apparent. Not to mention, this is when most fetuses start sucking their thumb!

As you can see, incredible things are happening through just the first two months of pregnancy. We’ve highlighted just a few items, but you can learn about every stage of prenatal development thanks to the Endowment for Human Development.

>>>> Learn more at EHD.org.

Pro-life is 100% pro-science.