Two months ago, South Dakota Family Voice traveled to Washington, D.C., to join with other pro-life organizations representing all 50 states requesting that Congress defund Big Abortion in the upcoming reconciliation package. We’re proud to share that our plea was heard, and thanks to leadership from Speaker Mike Johnson and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, the language was included and our federal tax dollars will no longer fund abortion if Congress passes the bill as written.     

This victory came one day after Planned Parenthood released its annual report detailing its 2023-2024 funding, overall abortions performed, and other services provided. The Charlotte Lozier Institute summarized the revelations in the report, finding that “taxpayer funding in the form of government grants, contracts, and Medicaid reimbursements hit $792.2 million, over $2 million per day – an increase of $92.9 million from the previous report and representing 39% of Planned Parenthood’s overall revenue.” Since 2013, taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood has increased by 50%.

The report also disclosed that Planned Parenthood performed 402,230 abortions in 2022-2023 – an all-time high – representing a 23% increase in abortions since 2013.

As the prospect of the federal government defunding abortion organizations looms, leftists argue that the move will ultimately disadvantage women who need access to free cancer screenings, birth control, and prenatal care. This argument falls flat on its face for several reasons, one of which can be found in Planned Parenthood’s own report.

In 96.9% of cases during the 2022-2023 period, Planned Parenthood sold women abortions rather than prenatal care, miscarriage treatment, or adoption support. Planned Parenthood is an abortion-first organization. “Prenatal services, miscarriage care, and adoption referrals accounted for only 1.7% (7,008), 0.9% (3,598), and 0.5% (2,148), respectively,” the Charlotte Lozier Institute found.

This statistic establishes that Planned Parenthood is primarily concerned with selling abortions, not providing prenatal or well-woman care. In fact, since 2013, “total cancer screening and prevention services have dropped by 54%, including declines of 61% for breast exams and 54% for pap tests. Prenatal services are down 63%. Contraceptive services are down 38%.”

Not only are Planned Parenthood’s other services negligible in comparison to its abortion rates, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and Rural Health Clinics (RHC) that provide women’s health services outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities 15:1. These facilities are far better suited to providing quality care for women that focus on their overall health and wellbeing, rather than pushing them to undergo dangerous abortions. Women will not be disadvantaged by a decrease in abortion facilities – in fact, they will receive higher-quality care at certified health centers.

In addition to all of these factors, Planned Parenthood was recently the center of a damning New York Times report revealing horrifying conditions at many of its facilities. The article went so far as to say the organization is “in crisis.” The disturbing incidents include multiple botched abortions, nerve damage from incorrectly inserted birth control implants, and a sewage leak in a patient recovery room. This is not an organization that cares about women’s health – it’s an organization that cares about profit.

“It’s time to stop forcing taxpayers to fund the Big Abortion industry. Thanks to Speaker Johnson and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, this year’s budget reconciliation bill contains the commonsense language to make that happen,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, stated. “Taxpayers should never be mandated to prop up an industry that profits from ending lives and harming women and girls.”

A recent poll from the Knights of Columbus revealed that 57% of Americans, including 33% of Democrats, oppose or strongly oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions. It’s time for Congress to respect the will of the people and defund Big Abortion.