Connecticut lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday which grants $800,000 to Planned Parenthood of Southern New England (PPSNE). The abortion chain affiliate is the greatest beneficiary of the “emergency” bill, and is reportedly planning to use some of the state funds to stockpile the abortion pill mifepristone.
House Bill 7066 passed by a 25-9 vote, and is designed to limit the effect of some of the Trump administration’s policies in the state. The bill is “emergency-certified,” which means that it bypassed the public hearings and committees usually tasked with reviewing legislation.
The passage of HB 7066 follows campaign efforts by PPSNE to increase funding for the affiliate as corporate Planned Parenthood claims nationwide financial deficits. The bill grants $2.8 million total to organizations which face a potential loss of funding due to Trump’s policies; $800,000 of those dollars are going to PPSNE.
An image shows the top four beneficiaries of HB 7066. Planned Parenthood’s funding far outstrips funding for other organizations. The majority of the organizations benefitted by the bill are receiving grant amounts of $62,500:
Source: CT Mirror Chart: Stephen Busemeyer | CT Mirror Source: CGA Get the data Created with Datawrapper
Republican lawmakers voiced concern over the way the legislation was fast-tracked and pointed to other funding needs in the state.
“We’re forcing all of us in this chamber, without a proper public hearing, without proper discussion, without proper review, to be forced to vote on something that usurped the entire legislative process,” said Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield.
Gretchen Raffa, vice president at PPSNE, celebrated the bill, noting that some of the money will be earmarked to stockpiling the abortion pill.
“We know that there are threats that are coming from the federal administration and Congress, and we need to do everything we can to ensure that people will continue to have access to medication abortion and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care,” Raffa said.
She noted that the Planned Parenthood affiliate couldn’t give an “exact figure” of money from the funds that will go towards mifepristone. The affiliate is free to use the money as leadership decides.
READ: Woman describes harrowing abortion pill experience: ‘I nearly died’
PPSNE has been campaigning for increased state funding for its facilities in Connecticut and for so-called telemed abortion, claiming monetary deficits and promoting lies about the “safety” of the abortion pill regimen. But could PPSNE’s legislative victory in Connecticut be a strategic part of a larger plot by Planned Parenthood to restructure the corporation for financial gain, while using increased investments in political action (instead of patient care) to expand revenue, along with the lucrative abortion pill business model?
PPSNE seems to have already adopted a low-cost, high-profit business model based on selling the abortion pill, as an online search reveals that only four of the affiliate’s 14 facilities in Connecticut continue to sell surgical abortions in addition to the abortion pill. So, where will the additional revenue, nearly $1 million, from Connecticut’s taxpayers this year go? It will likely go to whatever profit-focused schemes Planned Parenthood executives have up their sleeves.
