The name Planned Parenthood implies that “parenthood” might be something the organization promotes, but for many years, Planned Parenthood’s business model has centered around the sale of one service: abortion. So, when Planned Parenthood claims to assist pregnant women, what services might it be promoting? The corporation’s own data is clear that its care for pregnant women — like prenatal care or adoption referrals — is actually shrinking while its abortion numbers skyrocket. But the corporation’s marketing of abortion is embedded throughout all of its messaging, and it goes to great lengths to present it as a favorable option to parenting a child.
Planned Parenthood’s website makes certain that anyone considering parenting knows there are challenges and frustrations involved, not to mention costs. Planned Parenthood has the solution to all of this, of course: abortion, which Planned Parenthood fails to paint as a negative choice.
On a page discussing pregnancy, Planned Parenthood’s headline asks, “When is the right time to have a baby?” The answer states in part, “Becoming a parent is a big deal, and there’s a lot to think about.”
READ: Planned Parenthood president: Abortion is ‘critically important’ to what we do
“Parents have to give up a lot for their children, and meeting your child’s needs can be frustrating and challenging. People who are raising kids usually get less sleep and don’t have as much time to do things they need and want to do. Having a baby is expensive, and many people find parenting hard financially,” the web page notes. On another page, Planned Parenthood writes, “Having children can also mess with your school or career plans and goals… many people find that having a child tests even the strongest relationship in ways they don’t expect. Raising a child on your own can be especially challenging….”
While Planned Parenthood does admit that “[p]arenting can be joyful, rewarding, and life-changing,” babies are portrayed as expensive, freedom-suppressing disruptors of career plans and relationships. On the other hand, Planned Parenthood states in a section titled, “Is abortion the right option for me?” that “[d]eciding to have an abortion doesn’t mean you don’t want or love children,” and in listing why some people decide to abort their babies, the corporation writes that those people simply “want to be the best parent possible to the kids they already have.”
Hey, Planned Parenthood, children in the womb exist, too, otherwise there would be no such thing as an abortion…
Pregnancy v abortion Planned Parenthood website
The organization even gives false information about pro-life pregnancy resource centers, discouraging women from visiting these non-profit organizations which offer pregnancy testing, STD testing, ultrasounds, baby needs, parenting classes, job assistance, and more to pregnant women and their families for free.
In all of this, Planned Parenthood fails to accurately detail how violent abortion is or what it does to a preborn child.
Planned Parenthood’s website claims the corporation offers “adoption services” and “adoption referrals,” yet its annual report clearly states it offers only “adoption referrals.” Planned Parenthood’s 2019-2020 report reveals that adoption referrals declined nearly 38% in just one year, dropping from 4,279 recorded in the 2018-2019 report to 2,667 in the latest report. Adoption referrals have declined nearly 46% at Planned Parenthood since its 2007-2008 report which listed 4,912 referrals.
Planned Parenthood is often touted as a needed source for pregnant women, so why is it that, in just one year, the corporation’s prenatal care services declined nearly 12% (9,798 recorded in its 2018-2019 report to 8,626 recorded in its 2019-2020 report)? In fact, prenatal care services at Planned Parenthood have dropped over 72% from a high of 31,098 recorded in its 2010 report.
In contrast, Federally Qualified Health Centers provided 583,328 women with prenatal care in 2019.
Planned Parenthood’s marketing on pregnancy care is deceptive, as Live Action previously documented. Out of 97 facilities Live Action’s investigators called, only five said they offered any type of service to mothers who wanted to carry their babies to term. And while prenatal care was advertised on Planned Parenthood websites, nearly every Planned Parenthood staffer plainly told callers they did not offer any prenatal services at Planned Parenthood.
After the release of Live Action’s investigation, Planned Parenthood purged its websites of many of its claims related to offering prenatal care as a service.
Planned Parenthood’s business model is not built on helping pregnant mothers to give birth; it is built on abortion.
In 2019, Planned Parenthood’s ousted former president Leana Wen stated that “the priority of Planned Parenthood moving forward is to double down on abortion rights advocacy.” That same year, Planned Parenthood announced its plan to expand abortion. Then, in September of 2019, Planned Parenthood rolled out a new marketing tool: the Abortion Care Finder.
Planned Parenthood claimed, “One of the most-searched phrases on PlannedParenthood.org related to abortion is “abortion near me.” With the Abortion Care Finder, people can input their age, zip code, and the first day of their last period into the tool, and receive information about their abortion options, any state requirements that could mean they’ll need to make two trips to a health center and/or have parental notification or consent, and how to make an appointment at a health center.”
“The tool was created in response to the many people visiting Planned Parenthood’s websites looking for information on how to get an abortion, including which method of abortion — in-clinic or medication — is an option for them and what state restrictions may impact their access,” PP also wrote.
The digital tool is also described as a “locator” where clients “can access a safe, legal abortion,” despite the fact that women have died after legal (but not “safe”) abortions at Planned Parenthood facilities. In addition, there have been numerous emergencies documented in actual 911 calls to multiple Planned Parenthood abortion centers, many of which are repeat offenders.
Planned Parenthood claims that its abortion facility locator directs women to the “most accessible care — based on their location, age, and how far along they are in their pregnancy,” and Live Action News confirmed upon review that it directs users solely to Planned Parenthood facilities.
READ: Planned Parenthood hires ‘abortion patient navigators’ to ensure nothing deters women from abortion
Abortion is a huge revenue source for the organization whose donor base is shrinking. Planned Parenthood’s 2019-2020 report stated that the abortion finder had already received more than 767,000 visits, with more than 73,000 clients scheduling abortion appointments.
That same report also documented Planned Parenthood’s highest number of abortions ever: 354,871 — an increase of almost 3% from the 345,672 abortions previously reported, an almost 7% increase from its abortion totals just over a decade ago in 2009 (332,278). Planned Parenthood also now commits 41% of all abortions in the U.S. based on the most recent totals for national abortion numbers reported by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute in 2017.
A review of Planned Parenthood reports from the past decade (2010 to 2019-2020) reveals that Planned Parenthood committed 3,325,259 of the nearly 7.7 million U.S. abortions reported through 2017 (the Guttmacher Institute’s most recently reported year for abortion statistics).
Tragically, Planned Parenthood now commits 41 abortions for every one prenatal care service, and kills 133 preborn babies for every one adoption referral. Every day in America, Planned Parenthood ends the lives of 972 preborn babies, killing one preborn child every 89 seconds.
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