As the pro-life movement prepares for the 45th annual March for Life, here’s a number the liberal media are unlikely to report: Planned Parenthood has committed 7.6 million abortions since Roe vs. Wade.
Over the holiday weekend, America’s largest abortion provider released its 2016 – 2017 annual report. According to that report and former ones (plus numbers supplied by pro-life groups), Planned Parenthood has been responsible for the death of more than 7.6 million babies, from 1973 through 2017.
That means a population somewhere between the sizes of New York City and Los Angeles is missing.
The timing of Planned Parenthood’s new report came as a surprise, considering that the 2015 – 2016 report was released last May. That may be because the abortion giant was under pressure: while the national abortion rate was decreasing, Planned Parenthood’s abortion rate was increasing. This latest report changed that.
From 2016 to 2017, Planned Parenthood performed 321,384 abortions. That’s 6,964 fewer abortions than the year before. And Planned Parenthood can’t credit contraception for that slight decline – because it also provided fewer contraception services (from 2,808,815 to 2,701,866).
And while adoption referrals increased since last year’s report (from 2,889 to 3,889), prenatal services decreased (from 9,419 to 7,762). Still, that means that for every prenatal service given, Planned Parenthood performed 41 abortions, and for every adoption referral, Planned Parenthood committed close to 83 abortions.
Another decrease came in government funding. The abortion giant received $543.7 million (37% of its revenue) from “government health services, reimbursements & grants.” According to Planned Parenthood’s 2015 – 2016 annual report, a year earlier, the organization received $554.6 million. It’s not like Planned Parenthood is in need though, considering that its excess revenue increased from $77.5 million to $98.5 million.
The report also signaled the closing of Planned Parenthood clinics. While the 2015 – 2016 report boasted “nearly 650 Planned Parenthood health centers,” the 2016 – 2017 report advertised “more than 600 health centers.”
Like past reports, this new one continued to stress the debunked statistic that abortion makes up 3% of Planned Parenthood’s “affiliate medical services data.”
The report came right before the 45th March for Life on Jan. 19, 2018. Held in Washington, D.C., the march condemns abortion and celebrates human life around the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in America. Regardless of the weather, the march regularly attracts tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands from across the country. Still, the broadcast networks have routinely overlooked the event in years past.
Pro-Life Leaders React to Report
In response to the new report, leaders in the pro-life movement released statements (edited for brevity) challenging Planned Parenthood.
Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser:
Planned Parenthood’s business model is sinking faster than the Titanic. Despite record income, non-abortion services are in decline, clients are abandoning them in droves, and dozens of facilities have closed. Meanwhile, abortions are holding steady at over 320,000 a year. Yet this report barely scratches the surface of the abortion giant’s troubles as it faces federal investigation for its role in the grotesque harvest and sale of aborted babies’ body parts for profit. Enough is enough. Community health centers vastly outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities nationwide and offer comprehensive primary and preventative care for women and families. Congress must follow through on the promise to redirect tax dollars away from Planned Parenthood without further delay.
Americans United for Life President Catherine Glenn Foster:
Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report demonstrates that the abortion giant’s bottom line is, as always, its ‘bottom line. Critical patient services such as prenatal care are dropping like a rock, while when it comes to abortion, Planned Parenthood continues to push aggressively to corner the market. Planned Parenthood locations are outnumbered by comprehensive, community-based health clinics 20 to 1, and its affiliates provide services to far less than 1% of the American population, with its client numbers dropping every year. This report demonstrates that truly, we can – and should – provide safe and holistic health care without Planned Parenthood.
Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins:
The stealth release of Planned Parenthood’s annual report over the holidays shows that the Abortion Goliath is crying crocodile tears all the way to the bank -- a fact they clearly hoped no one would notice. They claim to be under attack, but their profits from the rising number of abortions and from the hard-working taxpayers are up again. Making money from ending lives is big business at Planned Parenthood. It is vital that Planned Parenthood be defunded and student lives protected from a predatory and profit-driven enterprise. But there is a silver lining in this release, as we can see that more students are responding to the human rights interests of the preborn than to the business interests of Planned Parenthood.
Former Planned Parenthood manager and And Then There Were None CEO Abby Johnson:
Typical under Cecile Richards' leadership of Planned Parenthood, the abortion giant once again cut their prenatal services to almost non-existent levels, cut contraception services, and served 100,000 less people than last year, while still committing over 321,000 abortions. Their annual report demonstrates that Planned Parenthood is not a healthcare organization but a political movement, intent on forcing their pro-abortion views on as many Americans as possible.
Methodology: Annual abortion statistics were taken from pro-life news site Live Action (2010) and spokeswoman Jill Stanek/pro-life group American Life League (1970-2009) in addition to Planned Parenthood annual reports (2011 – 2017).
