Planned Parenthood: We want to do more late-term abortions

While Planned Parenthood publicly claims that abortions late in pregnancy are done mainly for severe fetal anomalies, undercover videos by The Center for Medical Progress show Planned Parenthood abortionists discussing their expected weekly numbers of late-term, healthy “specimens” for procurement agencies and researchers – not ones with anomalies.

Planned Parenthood leadership, speaking to investigators they thought were fetal body parts harvesters, admitted that the amount of late-term abortions performed by Planned Parenthood is on the rise – and that this is intentional.

In July 2014, Deborah Nucatola, Senior Director of Medical Services for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told CMP investigators that the number of babies aborted by Planned Parenthood at 20 weeks or greater is increasing:

But what you’re going to see, and see more of is, the Planned Parenthood affiliates who do go to 20 weeks, their volume is going to go up, it’s not going down.

Why would this be occurring? Because, says Nucatola, while laws regulating abortion generally are closing some clinics, they are not shutting down taxpayer-funded Planned Parenthood:

Because what’s happening is, the laws, the legal environment, is not shutting us down. They’re shutting everyone else down, who just don’t have their act together because they’re just not under the scrutiny. Um, and there are some groups and some independent providers, but there is only so much independent providers can do to withstand the pressure they’re getting.

The conversation revealed that many affiliates are performing these later abortions. Other statements made by Nucatola detail Planned Parenthood’s involvement with late-term abortion:

• “There are three affiliates right now in California that go up to 20 weeks”
• “Arizona only goes to 20 weeks. There’s is a law that says 20 weeks; it was 18…”
• “We have an affiliate in Orlando that goes to 20 weeks right now.”
• “We have several affiliates not just in New York City that go to at least 18, I think.”
• “Gulf Coast was there; Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota go up to 20 weeks.”
• “New York City is what PPLA is on the West Coast; New York City is on the East Coast. They don’t use dig [digoxin, to stop the fetal heart], so you would have up to 24 weeks; the other thing is that their volume is probably as big, if not bigger. They do procedures Tuesday through Saturday.”
• “You know, PPLA for example – probably about 3,000 2nd tris, 12,000 total.”

Planned Parenthood has hundreds of centers that either refer for abortions or perform them, and they are insulated by the $500 million dollars in federal tax money they receive each year.

So while Planned Parenthood says they are the solution to “unwanted pregnancies” because of their contraceptive services, their top medical staff admits internally that they are gearing up to perform even more of the late-term abortion procedures that a majority of Americans dislike.

Nucatola also told the CMP “buyers” that although there are independent clinics performing abortions to 26 weeks, Planned Parenthood (which she stated did not perform abortions that far “yet”) also wanted make sure the industry generally aborts babies “to the legal limit”:

There’s a lot of conversation about who goes to the legal limit in their state; if they don’t go to the legal limit in their state why don’t they? Is there another provider that does? So we’re about to start doing some mapping work to say, you know, are there states where nobody’s going to the legal limit? And if not, why not, and what can we do about that?

Nucatola adds that she personally gave a Planned Parenthood affiliate in Utah a waiver to perform abortions to 20 weeks:

I just gave them a waiver. They’re probably going to 14 or 16, but I just gave them a waiver to go to 20, and I think they’re going to start going to 20 on a regular basis.

In another CMP video, Melissa Farrell, Director of Research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (Houston), was asked “How many providers practice in the second trimester? Specifically, the later than 16 week cases.”

She responded, “I mean, everybody here does. I want to say we have 6 [abortionists who go past 16 weeks].”

A glimpse at several Planned Parenthood websites reveal that late-term abortion is not exactly rare for the taxpayer-funded abortion giant:

• Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) provides in-clinic abortions up to 19 weeks and 6 days (just one day shy of 20 weeks).
• The same is true of the Mid and South Michigan affiliate.
• Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania performs abortions as late as 17-18 weeks – and of course accepts cash, money order, MasterCard, American Express and VISA.
• In Massachusetts, Planned Parenthood’s in-clinic abortions go up to 18 weeks 6 days.
• Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota offers abortions up to 21 weeks and 6 days.

To date, Planned Parenthood has been found covering up the sexual abuse of minors, aiding the sex trafficking of young women, lying to women about fetal development and abortion, trafficking in fetal body parts, and more.

Women and families can obtain healthcare without becoming involved with a corrupt organization rife with scandal. There are 13,000 federally qualified health centers providing low-income populations with comprehensive healthcare (not abortion) which would gladly accept the $500 million currently directed to the nation’s largest abortion provider.

Planned Parenthood’s willingness to perform abortions in the later stages of pregnancy is just another reason why they must be defunded.