Abortion Foes Open a New Front

DECEMBER 11, 2008

Abortion Foes Open a New Front
By STEPHANIE SIMON
WSJ

Abortion opponents are pressing state and local governments to stop sending taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood, arguing that the nonprofit group has plenty of cash and shouldn't be granted scarce public funds at a time of economic crisis. Planned Parenthood receives about $335 million a year -- a third of its budget -- from government grants and contracts to subsidize contraception, sex education and non-abortion-related health care for poor women and teenagers. The group is also the nation's largest abortion provider, and critics have long argued that the public funds indirectly subsidize abortions by keeping hundreds of Planned Parenthood clinics afloat.

But the new lobbying effort, backed by conservative Christian groups such as the Family Research Council, focuses more on economic than moral concerns. The campaign paints Planned Parenthood as a wealthy organization that doesn't need taxpayer help. Planned Parenthood reported record revenue and a $115 million budget surplus last year, and it is building a network of elegant health centers to attract middle-class clients. Planned Parenthood responds that its health-care services fill a critical need, especially now, when so many people are losing their jobs -- and their health insurance.

Past reductions in government funding have forced local chapters to close clinics, raise fees and cut back on subsidized contraception, which Planned Parenthood's president, Cecile Richards, described as "a lifeline for millions of people." In recent weeks, Planned Parenthood chapters have lost public funds in two states as elected officials juggled tight budgets. Fulton County, Ga., which includes Atlanta, canceled a $420,000 contract as part of statewide cuts in health care. Sarasota County, Fla., ended years of subsidizing Planned Parenthood's sex-education programs with annual grants of as much as $30,000.

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With a Democratic president soon to take office, "we're very limited as to what we can do" on a federal level, said Thomas McClusky, vice president for government affairs at the Family Research Council. "But on the local level, there are a lot of victories to be had." The group has been courting elected officials who they think would be receptive in states including Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122887146479593419.html (subscription)

that people have more babies that they don't want and can't support. :eyes:

and tend to the hearth. But when we are talking about poor mothers, they have to go to work, take several buses for a long drive while the kids stay behind...

shouldn't be granted scarce public funds at a time of economic crisis.

Let's get to work on that one --!!!