While supporters of Planned Parenthood make claims that defunding the largest chain of abortion clinics in the country will leave millions of women with no place to go, the numbers nationally and more specifically, in Nevada, tell a different story.
Abortion promoters in Nevada are attempting to sway Senator Dean Heller to vote against a measure to defund Planned Parenthood. NARAL, a national abortion advocacy organization and Planned Parenthood (PP), an abortion corporation which receives over half a billion in tax dollars each year are calling on their supporters to contact the offices of Senator Dean Heller to persuade him to support funding abortion-focused organizations and facilities in any Senate version of the health care bill.
Planned Parenthood tweet to Senator Heller
Money is fungible and therefore, dollars that are sent to abortion facilities can be used to support day-to-day expenses such as facilities and staff, freeing up other money for abortions. In fact, many of the dollars funneled to PP under the Title X family planning program are currently being sent to locations housed at the same address as Planned Parenthood abortion facilities.
Live Action News has previously documented that Planned Parenthood’s contraception, Pap test, cancer screening, and breast exam numbers have decreased nationally even while government funding and abortions are increasing. Patient numbers at PP have also decreased by more than half a million in the past several years. Planned Parenthood is failing women, all the while ending 900 children’s lives every day through abortion.
But, what about Nevada?
How do patient numbers and other work done by Planned Parenthood compare to those provided by federally qualified health and community centers — which offer many more primary care services?
FACILITIES:
There are currently three PP facilities in the state of Nevada.
Two of those facilities perform abortions and are operated by the Colorado-based affiliate Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM), Inc. The third facility is operated by the California-based affiliate Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (PPMM) and refers for abortions.
In contrast, there are twelve Rural Health Clinics and six Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which provide services at thirty-one sites in Nevada, according to the Rural Health Information Hub website.
PATIENTS:
According to stats published by PP, the abortion chain saw a total of 16,007 clients in the state, down from 21,910 patients in 2015.
A media report published in January revealed that about five percent of clients (800) who went to the Nevada Planned Parenthood facilities were Medicaid patients.
Compare those numbers to patients who were seen by the health centers, which again, offer a vast array of primary care services.
In 2015, 83,917 patients were seen by the rural health clinics and the FQHCs, according to the lasted published data on the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) website. This was an increase from 2014, when these centers in the state served 77,805 patients.
CANCER SCREENINGS:
Planned Parenthood lists breast and cervical screenings among others in its category “cancer screenings.”
Currently, the organization reports online that less than 16 percent of clients (2,497) going to PP in Nevada received cancer screenings.
In contrast, numbers from the HRSA website show that, in 2015, 37 percent of patients (31,113) that visited rural health clinics and FQHCs were screened for cervical cancer alone.
ABORTION:
Live Action News was not able to document the actual numbers of abortions performed by PP in Nevada. However, the latest summary data published by the state shows that in 2013, the rate of abortion was highest in three counties. Among them was Clark County, where Planned Parenthood has two abortion facilities.
CONTRACEPTION:
A summary of data gathered by PP’s former “special affiliate,” the Guttmacher Institute reveals that in 2015:
- Two out of 16 counties that provided publicly-funded contraception had at least one Planned Parenthood center.
- Eight counties that provided contraception had at least one Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).
Planned Parenthood vs. FQHC contraception, 2015
The data, which looked at PP centers and FQHCs reveals that there were no Planned Parenthood centers located in 14 counties.
Of all the publicly-funded family planning centers in the state, Planned Parenthood operated just five percent (three out of 59).
NATIONAL:
Nationally, services at Planned Parenthood are decreasing. An analysis over the past ten years showed that multiple services have decreased. A sample is listed below:
- Pap tests– DOWN 74%: 1,116,681 (2005) vs. 293,799 (2015)
- Breast exams – DOWN 62%: 842,399 (2005) vs. 321,700 (2015)
- Contraception – DOWN 25% : 3,744,498 (2005) vs. 2,808,815 (2015)
- Cancer screenings – DOWN 67%: 2,009,835( 2005) vs. 665,234 (2015)
While politicians continue to send PP more than half a billion dollars each year, the organization’s 2015-2016 annual report reveals that private donations to Planned Parenthood increased by 26 percent from the previous year, swelling by an additional $92 million in 2015-2016. (The total private donations in 2015-2016 were $445.8 million.) The cash flow enabled Planned Parenthood to end the year with an excess of revenue over expenses in the amount of $77.5 million. This excess was an increase of nearly 32 percent over the $58.8 million in excess Planned Parenthood reported in 2014-2015.
The fact is Planned Parenthood does not need taxpayer dollars because Planned Parenthood is NOT a health care agency: they are an abortion corporation.
Every day that Congress fails to defund Planned Parenthood, another $1.5 million of government money is poured into their coffers to enable them to end the lives of 900 preborn children. The American taxpayer should not be forced to continue a violent organization that decreases legitimate work while continuing to commit more abortions.
