Crises tend to reveal the real character of both people and organizations. Half the world is on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic and, happily, that unprecedented situation reveals most people live by the sage words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta – “the world is full of good people, if you can’t find one then be one.”
From Facebook to MyPillow, from your local restaurant to Panera Bread, everyone is working together to find ways to help their fellow human beings. Neighbor helping neighbor, companies helping people in need, already taxed charities going above and beyond to get us all through this trial.
There is one notable exception: abortion business Planned Parenthood.
Abortion for Planned Parenthood is a one-billion-dollar industry, and its leadership is more focused on protecting the brand and advancing a radical ideology than protecting people. While governors across the nation are mandating that non-essential businesses close to help curb the spread of coronavirus, Planned Parenthood’s abortion business marches on. Some of these governors have even specifically designated abortion facilities as non-essential and asked them to cease operations during these dire times. But those orders have been met with obstinate refusal, and Planned Parenthood has even sued in retaliation.
When abortion businesses carry on operations as though we aren’t going through a national emergency, it not only puts patients at risk of contracting the virus, but it also diverts personal protective equipment (PPE) which could otherwise be used to treat persons who are actually ill. Planned Parenthood has openly solicited such equipment in order to perform abortions, in spite of the needs of those suffering and dying of COVID-19.
As evidence that this is an industry-wide problem, other abortion businesses are behaving similarly. One such example is June Medical Services in Louisiana, the facility at the center of the Supreme Court case June Medical Services v. Russo. That facility, too, is ignoring state orders that only emergency procedures be done. Louisiana State Attorney General Jeff Landry responded to the selfishness of such actions: “While healthcare workers actually treating Coronavirus patients are experiencing severe shortages of Personal Protective Equipment, June Medical is irresponsibly still operating business – dangerously putting countless people at further risk.” Landry also pointed out that June Medical Services could follow “the generous lead of other medical facilities and donate their supplies to local hospitals who are in desperate need.”
And, rather than being part of the solution, Planned Parenthood’s multi-million-dollar lobbying operation was working overtime so that the coronavirus relief bills would benefit them. The abortion business failed this time around thanks to efforts led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Marco Rubio, but it was not ashamed to complain about the fact that taxpayers wouldn’t be forced to pay for more abortions.
Planned Parenthood’s self-serving ways are no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. The business has a history of covering up statutory rape and sex trafficking, committing fraud against taxpayers and is under investigation for the trafficking of aborted baby body parts.
Despite all of this, which should be enough to free taxpayers from subsidizing Planned Parenthood once and for all, the abortion business still receives hundreds of millions of tax dollars each year, mainly in Medicaid funds. We hope that, with the support of a president who promised to defund this bad actor (which spends tens of millions of dollars to elect pro-abortion politicians, by the way), Planned Parenthood will finally be excluded from Medicaid reimbursement.
“Exclusion” is done all the time. In fact, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General has reported over 9,000 cases over the last two decades. Planned Parenthood has violated a number of the criteria the HHS Inspector General specifies as cause for exclusion.
Many in the pro-life and law enforcement community have known for years that Planned Parenthood was a bad actor – it has now exposed itself to the world as being more about self-interest than service. It is past time that taxpayers distance themselves from the abortion industry. The Trump Administration should act now.
Jeanne Mancini is President of March for Life and Tom McClusky is President of March for Life Action