A pro-life student group is alleging that Planned Parenthood for America targets college students for their abortion services.
Students for Life is basing the claim on a study the group conducted over the winter. It found that of the estimated 780 Planned Parenthood facilities in the United States (at the initiation of the study in January), there are 615 Planned Parenthoods, or 79 percent, within 5 miles of a university.
Kristan Hawkins, the executive director of Students for Life of America, explained to The Daily Caller that their analysis confirms what the group has long believed.
“The study shows that Planned Parenthood unequivocally targets women attending college,” Hawkins said, adding that often young women chose to have abortions because they do not feel as though there are other options.
By comparison, according to the study, of a sample of 100 randomly selected zip codes only 25 percent are located within 5 miles of a university.
Planned Parenthood did not respond to The Daily Caller’s questions pertaining to whether or not the organization targets college students for abortions. The organization has long maintained that their services extend well past abortions, including offering health care and family planning education.
“We are a trusted health care provider, an informed educator, a passionate advocate, and a global partner helping similar organizations around the world,” Planned Parenthood explains on their website. “Planned Parenthood delivers vital reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of women, men, and young people worldwide.”
According to Planned Parenthood, one out of every five American women have visited a Planned Parenthood facility.
While the group promotes a mission of women’s health and education, Students for Life asserts that Planned Parenthood’s true goal is abortions.
“It’s Planned Parenthood’s business model to increase the number of abortions they perform because that’s where they make money,” Hawkins told TheDC. “The abortion giant sees college women as prime targets to increase their bottom line because women between the ages of 18-24 account for 43% of abortions done each year. They are the target market for the abortion industry.”
Planned Parenthood has become a political pawn in recent years and a hot-button topic for those engaged in the culture wars. Last year, the debate over whether the organization should continue to receive federal funding nearly brought the government to a shutdown — a battle Republicans contended was less about abortion and more about the need to find spending cuts.
“It’s an outrage to shut down the government over an extreme proposal that would deny millions of women Pap tests, breast cancer screenings and birth control,” Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said at the time. “Attacking Planned Parenthood’s preventive health care hurts women, does not cut the deficit or fix the economy, and must be stopped.”
While Planned Parenthood still receives federal funding, it remains under the microscope.Florida Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns continues to pursue an investigation into the group’s activities and finances he launched late last year, which was spurred by a report from the pro-life Americans United for Life entitled “The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood.”
Planned Parenthood continues to weather the onslaught, and have continued with their often contentious mission.
On the flip side, Students for Life have been promoting a program to make college women feel more comfortable on campus and let them see there is another option besides abortion.
Hawkins explained that the group’s “Pregnant on Campus” program is meant to offer “signs of hope”
“[It is an] initiative that seeks to aid pregnant and parenting college students by providing tangible support these women need, like installing diaper changing decks around campus, raising money to subsidize daycare, or providing much needed baby supplies,” she said. “While not intended to encourage pregnancy at the college level, the program is a means to help these women choose life for both themselves and their baby and not call Planned Parenthood as soon as they get a positive pregnancy test.”