What legislation Planned Parenthood fights hard to defeat says a lot about them.
It not only shows what they are opposed to, but also what they are willing to support for the sake of their business: abortion.
We did some investigating to see what types of things Planned Parenthood attacked and contested in recent years. What we found might shock you.
Why would Planned Parenthood oppose legislation on issues like this?
We will leave this here for you to decide…
Sex-trafficking
Sadly, sex-trafficking remains a horrifyingly enormous problem in countries around the world, including the United States. According to the ECPTAT-USA, 100,000 children are trafficked every year in America.
A recent study, reported that 55% of the women surveyed, who were sex-trafficking victims, had at least one abortion, and over half of them reported being forced into the abortion. It appears that in many cases, abortion is a forced, fast, and go-to method for sex-traffickers to cover up their crime.
For Planned Parenthood, abortion is a primary source of business. At the same time, Planned Parenthood says that it has a “commitment to protect women’s health.”
Does this commitment to women’s health and safety take precedence over abortion?
SB 178: “Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act”
In March of 2015, Planned Parenthood, with the help of Senate Democrats, filibustered SB 178, the “Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act,” intended to help victims of human trafficking. According to this bill, federal funds would not be used to pay for abortions given to victims of sex-trafficking, which would abet the trafficking industry itself. Essentially, the bill implied that Planned Parenthood could not receive taxpayer dollars for the abortions of sex-trafficking victims. The bill passed in May of that same year, but only after an amendment was made to fund these abortions with criminal fines and money previously appropriated by Congress.
Sex-Selective Abortion
Sex-selective abortion is the termination of a preborn child because his or her sex is undesirable. Typically we associate this barbaric practice with cultures in countries like China, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and India. It’s terrifying to think that anything so unethical and opposed to our principle of equality could ever happen in the United States. Sadly however, this frightening idea is very much a reality.
With the rise of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), sex-selection is already becoming an increasing issue in the United States, as noted in the survey analysis by Jason Christopher Roberts in the Duke Law & Technology Review. In a review, published by Professor Jason Abrevaya from the University of Texas, it is shown that Americans have already aborted thousands of babies, solely based on their sex.
Planned Parenthood claims that it is “rooted in the courage and tenacity of American women and men willing to fight for women’s health, rights, and equality.”
However, does their commitment to gender equality hold fast in the face of the abortion industry?
R.3541: “Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act” or PRENDA
In 2011, Planned Parenthood opposed the R. 3541, the “Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act,” or PRENDA. This bill, was proposed to Congress by Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ), banned sex-selective and race-selective abortions. Planned Parenthood stated,
“This legislation will impose harmful restrictions on a woman’s access to care and limit her choices as she makes personal medical decisions. Furthermore, it would intrude on the critical nature of the doctor/patient relationship and interfere with a doctor’s ability to provide nonjudgmental, high-quality care for women.”
Sadly, PRENDA was 20 votes short of meeting the two-thirds majority it needed in Congress in order to pass.
HB701: “Louisiana Sex-Selective Abortion Ban”
In 2015, Planned Parenthood openly spoke out against HB701, the “Louisiana Sex-Selective Abortion Ban,” which would prevent an abortion if the doctor knew that the decision was based upon the sex of the child. Planned Parenthood Senior Director of External Services in Louisiana, Reagan Carter, said,
“Planned Parenthood recognizes Rep. Lenar Whitney’s HB 701, a measure that will ban sex-selective abortions, for what it truly is: another backdoor ban on abortion by politicians determined to outlaw safe, legal right for women and families one way or another. These abortion bans open the door for politicians to further intrude into a person’s personal decision-making process.”
“Louisiana Sex-Selective Abortion Ban,” HB 701, passed the House in May of 2015, but died in the Senate Committee that same year.
Planned Parenthood Letter to California Lawmakers
In June 2014, Planned Parenthood wrote a letter to California lawmakers, urging them to not vote for any bans on abortion. They indicated that they were opposed to sex-selective abortions and other restrictions because “they simply limit access to reproductive health care.” They also threatened legislators, saying they would keep a record of the lawmakers who voted against their request.
In each case, Planned Parenthood has expressed its opposition to any restraint on their business of abortion, regardless of whether or not children are being aborted based upon their sex.
Infanticide
Infanticide is defined as the murder or killing of an infant born alive or young child. As with sex-selective abortion, infanticide is often associated with estranged cultures from other countries. The idea that the murder of tiny infants would ever become an accepted practice in America is horrifying and seems inconceivable.
Planned Parenthood would never be okay with killing babies who are born alive after attempted abortions, right?
Born-Alive Infant Protection Act
In 2003, H.R. 2175, the “Born Alive Infants Protection Act,” was passed into law by Congress. It required that healthcare providers give medical care and life-sustaining treatment to all born-alive infants. The bill passed overwhelmingly in the House and unanimously in the Senate.
However, in 2001, 2002, and 2003, Planned Parenthood fought alongside Illinois Senator Barack Obama in their efforts to defeat Illinois’ “Born Alive Infants Protection Act,” SB1095. Several versions of the bill were introduced, each requiring that infants born alive during an abortion are given medical care and life-sustaining treatment. Obama voted “present” once, and “no” every successive time after that.
Pam Sutherland, the president and CEO of the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council, told ABC News,
“We at Planned Parenthood view those as leadership votes. We worked with him [Obama] specifically on his strategy. The Republicans were in control of the Illinois Senate at the time. They loved to hold votes on ‘partial birth’ and ‘born alive’. They put these bills out all the time . . . because they wanted to pigeonhole Democrats.”
Sadly, the life-saving bill was never made into law.
Infants Born Alive Act
On March 29, 2013, HB 1129, the “Infants Born Alive Act,” which gave legal protection to all born babies, was being considered by the Florida State Legislature. Planned Parenthood aggressively opposed the bill. Alisa LaPolt Snow, a lobbyist for the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, testified for Planned Parenthood, and Florida Rep. Jim Boyd asked her,
“If a baby is born on a table as a result of a botched abortion, what would Planned Parenthood want to have happen to that child that’s struggling for life?”
Snow responded saying the following:
“We believe that, you know, any decision that’s made should be up to the woman, her family, and the physician.”
Hence, if they wanted to kill the born-alive infant, Planned Parenthood would not object to doing so.
Fortunately, this bill was passed and became law in July of 2013.
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
In 2015, Congressman Trent Franks sponsored the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” H.R. 3504. The bill would make it a federal crime to not provide medical care to babies born alive during an abortion. Planned Parenthood actively lobbied against the bill, and they sent a memo to Congress voicing their dismay. In the memo, Planned Parenthood states,
“This bill would interfere with the sacred doctor-patient relationship and substitute a physician’s best judgement with that of a group of politicians…The bipartisan Born Alive Infants Protection Act state that when a baby is born alive, it requires a certain standard of care. Women’s reproductive health organizations did not oppose this bill at the time because it did not alter current law in a significant way, did not change current clinical practice and did not roll back the important protections of Roe v. Wade. Planned Parenthood strongly opposes this bill because it would also add new criminal penalties against doctors and clinicians as a scare tactics that serves the sole purpose of scaring women away from seeking safe, legal, abortion.”
Why would Planned Parenthood be so concerned about the “sacred doctor-patient relationship” and afraid of justifiable penalties for such a heinous crime, if they were already abiding by the law?
The “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” passed the House, but never made it through the Senate.
It’s pretty clear, even the most heinous and unthinkable crimes against humanity – sex-trafficking, abortions based on sex of the child, and infanticide – don’t make a difference when it promoting abortion.
Should we support – with our tax dollars – an organization like this?