No tax money for Planned Parenthood

While attending the listening session hosted by Dan Newhouse last week, it was apparent that the bulk of the crowd did not represent the constituency of our conservative county. One of the issues that concerned the group was the federal funding of Planned Parenthood. The point was made that the funding for Planned Parenthood is not appropriated for abortions in any way. Not true. I can assure you that the funding does facilitate abortions by freeing up other funds for abortion services. Actually it is estimated that funding abortions takes much of the annual Planned Parenthood budget. Planned Parenthood performs 1/3 of a million abortions each year; it’s the largest abortion provider in the nation, and has doubled its share of the abortion market since 2011. Pro-choice groups claim that abortions only make up about 3 percent of their services. That number is very misleading when you consider that a visit to obtain contraceptives would be equal to an abortion in the eyes in those running Planned Parenthood. You and I, directly or indirectly, fund abortions and I do not want to be responsible for facilitating the death of a baby. We have thousands of other federally funded services throughout our nation that can help women with their reproductive needs. Please, Dan Newhouse, do not appropriate one penny of federal money to Planned Parenthood. They already receive most of their funding from other sources, there is no question that the private sector would make up most, if not all, of the difference in lost revenue.

Mark Roylance

Moses Lake