Following a lengthy battle to keep a $397,000 taxpayer-funded contract in Memphis, Tennessee, Planned Parenthood has lost the fight. After significant pro-life lobbying, the county commission awarded the tax money to Christ Community Health Services.
Interestingly, although Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards has claimed that Planned Parenthood provides mammograms for women[1], a Live Action telephone investigation in March, 2011 recorded this same Memphis Planned Parenthood clinic admitting that it does not provide mammograms. Instead, they referred our caller to Christ Community Health Service – the same organization that is now receiving the tax money. Watch the Live Action recording below beginning at 1:49.
Dr. Rick Donlon, a founding physician at the Christ Community Health clinic, stated, “a pregnancy is a human life and that is worthy of all the protections.” He continued, “We really try to provide women with other options and make sure they have those possibilities,” emphasizing that his organization does not direct women to abortion clinics.
In an interview with LifeNews, Brian Harris of Tennessee Right to Life commented, “Pro-life Tennesseans have proven again today what can be positively accomplished for the protection of human life when we work together.”[2]
This is not the first time that Planned Parenthood of Memphis has faced scrutiny. In the Summer of 2008, a Planned Parenthood counselor was caught counseling Lila Rose, posing as a 14-year-old girl, to lie about her 31-year-old boyfriend’s age to get an abortion in our undercover video. The staffer counsels Rose to lie to a judge about her boyfriend’s age in order to bypass parental notification laws, admits that she should report the abuse, but chooses to do nothing. Planned Parenthood states that the employee voluntarily left between the video’s filming and its release. Following the video’s release, Tennessee lawmakers voted to defund Planned Parenthood by up to $1.1 million.[3]
Although this grant has been revoked, Planned Parenthood of Memphis is still receiving taxpayer money as a center to administer testing and treatment for syphilis. Pro-life advocates in Memphis believe that this testing and treatment is important, but that it should be administered by a legitimate health care provider that does not provide abortions. To share your thoughts over the continued funding of Planned Parenthood in Memphis, the county commission can be contacted here.
[1] Live Action, “Planned Parenthood Cheats Taxpayers With Imaginary Mammograms.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq0kBkUZbvQ. Posted March 29, 2011.
[2] Steven Ertelt, “Planned Parenthood Denied $397 in Tax Funding in Tennessee.” http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/17/planned-parenthood-denied-397k-in-tax-funding-in-tennessee/. Posted October 17, 2011.
[3] Lucas L. Johnson II, “2010 Rings In New Laws For Tennessee.” http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jan/02/2010-rings-in-new-laws-for-tenn/. Posted January 2, 2010.
