AOC claims America’s biggest abortion chain ‘saves lives’

Before the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), often referred to simply as “AOC,” recently claimed that Planned Parenthood has saved “many lives” with their “prenatal care” services. She also claimed her own mother received prenatal care there, calling herself a “Planned Parenthood baby.”

In her statement before a House committee hearing titled, “Birthing While Black: Examining America’s Black Maternal Health Crisis,” the Congresswoman, a strong supporter of abortion and Planned Parenthood, stated:

If we want to talk about Planned Parenthood, let’s talk about how many lives Planned Parenthood has saved. And how many babies have been born because of the prenatal care provide by Planned Parenthood.

If you don’t believe it and you’ve never met a Planned Parenthood baby, I’m happy to let you know that I am one. And that my mother received and relied on prenatal care from Planned Parenthood when she was pregnant with me.

And, so if we’re concerned about life – we don’t get to talk about anyone else who’s not concerned about the full spectrum of that when we are upholding policies that kill people.

While no one can confirm or deny Ocasio-Cortez’s claim that her mother received prenatal care from Planned Parenthood during her pregnancy (which was likely 1988 or 1989 as she was born in October of 1989), for her to now imply that “many lives” are saved by an organization which currently kills over 350,000 children every single year through abortion is a purposeful and egregious deception.

The Facts

Politicians like Ocasio-Cortez often tout Planned Parenthood (recently accused of systemic racism by its own employees) as necessary “health care” for pregnant women. However, Planned Parenthood’s own data is clear that its care for pregnant women — like prenatal care and adoption referrals — are actually shrinking while its abortion numbers skyrocket.

Planned Parenthood’s business model has centered around the sale of abortion and it goes to great lengths to present it as a favorable alternative to parenting, so it is no surprise that the organization’s abortions and taxpayer funding are increasing year over year.

The Numbers 

Planned Parenthood used to report just the number of prenatal clients it served. However, in 2009 it began reporting “prenatal services,” which had the effect of appearing to increase its number served in that category by a factor of nearly six.

In 2009, Planned Parenthood’s report showed 40,489 prenatal services provided (2009-2010 annual report) but in its Annual Affiliate Service Census Report for that same year, it reported just 7,021 clients.

A review of “prenatal services” between 2009 and the most recent 2019-2020 report shows that Planned Parenthood provided a total of 200,530 prenatal services. At the same time, it committed nearly four million abortions. In other words, during that time frame, Planned Parenthood ended the lives of 18 preborn children for every one prenatal care service it claimed to provide.

The year Ocasio-Cortez’s mother could have been pregnant (1988 or 1989), Planned Parenthood’s reports indicated the following:

• 1988: Planned Parenthood committed abortions on 104,000 women while they served 2,400 prenatal clients.
• 1989: Planned Parenthood committed abortions for 111,000 women while they served 3,400 prenatal clients.

Both categories referenced clients served; therefore, we can estimate that Planned Parenthood’s abortion clients outnumbered its prenatal services clients 43.33 to 1 in 1988, and nearly 33 to 1 in 1989.

More currently, between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019, Planned Parenthood provided a mere 8,626 “prenatal services” while committing a total of 354,871 abortions. And, in just one year, the corporation’s prenatal care services declined by nearly 12% (9,798 recorded in its 2018-2019 report compared to 8,626 recorded in its 2019-2020 report).

In fact, prenatal care services at Planned Parenthood have dropped nearly 79% since 2009 and over 72% since 2010, figures recorded in the organization’s 2010 report (40,489 in 2009 compared to 31,098 in 2010). 

Currently, Planned Parenthood commits 41 abortions for every one prenatal care service and 133 abortions for every adoption referral. This does not even remotely show a focus on helping women to give birth to their children — i.e. “saving lives.”

PLANNED PARENTHOOD PROVIDES LESS THAN 1% OF PRENATAL SERVICES

Planned Parenthood only serves three percent of women of reproductive age in the U.S.

Currently, Planned Parenthood’s own website makes it clear that only “some” Planned Parenthood facilities offer any prenatal care and nationwide data shows that Planned Parenthood only provides a minuscule amount of the service overall.

According to a 2016 analysis published by the National Center of Health Statistics, women had 22.5 million prenatal visits with providers in the U.S. That same year, Planned Parenthood reported just 7,762 prenatal services; in 2019, PP reported 8,626 prenatal services.

This means that Planned Parenthood likely provides far, far less than even one half of one percent (.0004%, to be exact) of prenatal services in the United States.

Yet, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) provide almost twice the number of prenatal services annually as Planned Parenthood has reported over the span of 20 years.

Perhaps it is FQHCs that should be touted as the true lifesaving entities.

Prenatal Care Deception

Live Action’s undercover investigations have revealed that prenatal care is not just difficult to find at Planned Parenthood facilities, but practically nonexistent. As can be heard in the recordings, even the workers themselves seemed baffled that anyone would call asking for prenatal services, which were advertised at the time on Planned Parenthood’s own website and later scrubbed.

In 2017, Live Action found that only a small number of Planned Parenthood facilities were offering prenatal care of any kind. Out of 97 facilities called, only five said they offered any type of service to mothers who wanted to carry their babies to term.

Nearly every Planned Parenthood staffer plainly told investigators they did not offer prenatal services at Planned Parenthood. Watch:

 

Planned Parenthood’s failed initiative

At one time prenatal care was described as Planned Parenthood’s “fastest growing area.” But times have certainly changed.

According to Planned Parenthood’s 1996-1997 annual report, the organization had implemented a three-year $1.4 million initiative with 18 affiliates called the PPFA Comprehensive Prenatal Care Network (CPCN). It was created to “reduce the rates of infant and maternal death.” Today, the organization touts abortion as a solution to these serious public health issues.

The CPCN initiative may have been the result of a failed “reinvention plan” to reshape Planned Parenthood into a broader health care organization. It was developed under then-president (and former nurse) Pamela J. Maraldo in the mid-1990’s.

According to a New York Times report, the plan was soundly rejected because “[…] some of the group’s affiliates felt would inevitably diminish their role as advocates for abortion rights and low-income women’s access to health care.” Read more about that here.

Retaining power is crucial to Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood is an organization focused on abortion and obtaining power, according to its own president Alexis McGill Johnson, who was recently asked if there was a “path to ensuring some kind of stability [on abortion rights].”

Her response? “Building and holding power.”

The organization’s past president Cecile Richards once told NBC’s Chuck Todd that she was helping to turn Planned Parenthood into “the largest kick butt political organization.” And as a result, the corporation has made many political alliances — with politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — that benefit its bottom line.

Richards’ replacement, Dr. Leana Wen, who was later ousted for failing to focus on abortion or on expanding Planned Parenthood’s political power, tweeted regarding her departure, “The new Board leadership has determined that the priority of Planned Parenthood moving forward is to double down on abortion rights advocacy.”

According to Planned Parenthood’s 2019-2020 annual report, the corporation lost over half a million donors but accumulated nearly $70 million in excess revenue over expenses in just that one year, making Planned Parenthood’s net assets over $2 billion. In the past decade (2010-2019), while Planned Parenthood committed 3.3 million abortions, the organization’s net assets have climbed by nearly one billion ($880.9 million).

Planned Parenthood’s focus, in other words, is not on “saving lives” through prenatal care, but on abortion — and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s claims to the contrary are misleading and disingenuous.

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