President Donald Trump said he’s willing to allow Planned Parenthood to keep its federal funding, but with a big caveat: The woman’s health organization must stop providing abortion services.
“As I said throughout the campaign, I am pro-life and I am deeply committed to investing in women’s health and plan to significantly increase federal funding in support of non-abortion services such as cancer screenings,” Trump said, according to CBS News.
He added, “Polling shows the majority of Americans oppose public funding for abortion, even those who identify as pro-choice. There is an opportunity for organizations to continue the important work they do in support of women’s health, while not providing abortion services.”
Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, issued a statement that reiterated her organization’s commitment to women’s reproductive health in the country in the face of resistance from Republican politicians who are anti-choice.
“Planned Parenthood’s singular commitment is to the women and men who come to us for health care every day in communities across the country,” Richards said. “We will always stand for women’s ability to make decisions about their health and lives, without interference from politicians in Washington, DC.”
“Defunding Planned Parenthood would block millions of people in this country from accessing birth control, cancer screenings, and preventive care,” Richards continued. “For many patients, Planned Parenthood is the only health care provider they see.”
And in a statement to ABC News, Richards said that there was nothing new about Trump’s ultimatum.
“The White House proposal that Planned Parenthood stop providing abortion is the same demand opponents of women’s health have been pushing for decades, as a part of their longstanding effort to end women’s access to safe, legal abortion,” she said. “Planned Parenthood has always stood strong against these attacks on our patients and their ability to access the full range of reproductive health care. We are glad that the White House understands that taking away the preventive care Planned Parenthood provides is deeply unpopular and would be a disaster for women’s health care.”
According to NPR, Planned Parenthood receives about $500 million in federal funds each year, which accounts for 40 percent of its total revenue stream.
But very little of its funding goes to abortion services.
NPR found that only 3 percent of its revenue is used to pay for abortion services.
The vast majority — 76 percent — of Planned Parenthood services are related contraception and sexually transmitted diseases and infections, while 9 percent is used for cancer screenings.
Sassy Liberty