Today, September 29th, the hearing “Planned Parenthood’s Taxpayer Funding” was held by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The objective was to examine the use of taxpayer funding by Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, and Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards testified at the hearing. Many shocking truths about Planned Parenthood were revealed.
Top 13 Things Learned about Planned Parenthood from Today’s Hearing
- Planned Parenthood made $127 million in revenue, over and above their expenses, in 2014.
- Planned Parenthood received about $528 million from the government. It was given $60 million in Title X funding, which is discretionary.
- 41% of Planned Parenthood’s revenue comes from taxpayers.
- Planned Parenthood has enough excess revenue for a $100 million endowment.
- Planned Parenthood gave $22 million to its political action and lobbying arm. $11.8 million was given to Democratic candidates.
- $67 million was spent on fundraising over the course of three years.
- $14,000 was spent on travel per day ($5.1 million in 2013), while $600,000 was spent on exorbitant parties in 2013.
- Planned Parenthood sent $32 million overseas to Africa and Latin America, and $3.4 million to Central America and the Caribbean.
- $200,000 of Planned Parenthood’s money was sent to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a progressive political organization.
- The videos from the Center for Medical Progress were authenticated by an independent forensic analysis company.
- There are no mammogram machines at any of the 700 Planned Parenthood facilities, as stated by CEO Cecile Richards.
- Planned Parenthood has done over 327,000 abortions in the last year, as stated by CEO Cecile Richards.
- The number of Planned Parenthood breast exams have decreased 42% from 2009 to 2013. They have also seen an 80% decline in pre-natal care services.
Congressman Jason Chaffetz reiterated these facts and more in his powerful opening statement to the Committee.
During her testimony, Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards also made some striking and puzzling statements.
Contrary to what she said in 2011, Ms. Richards stated that Planned Parenthood has never provided mammograms to women.
Here is what she said during the hearing:
Here is her previous statement:
Also, Ms. Richards would not identify the statements made in the Planned Parenthood videos which she had apologized for after their release. She actually said she was “proud” of Dr. Deborah Nucatolah – the doctor who admitted to altering her abortion procedures to harvest body parts from aborted babies.
The Planned Parenthood CEO would not provide the revenue that Planned Parenthood receives from abortions. Furthermore, she stated that she had never heard of children surviving abortions. When asked about partial birth abortion, Cecile Richards responded that making partial birth abortion illegal “was a political formulation not a medical formulation.”
The findings of the hearing continue to point toward one thing – Planned Parenthood really doesn’t need federal funding. To obtain more information about the hearing, you can view the memorandum here. We will continue to update this blog with video clips and information as the hearing progresses.
This blog has been updated since published.