Over and over, the American public is blasted with a deceptive message: Women need Planned Parenthood. In the words of Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, “One in five women in this country depend on Planned Parenthood for their health care.”
But do we, actually? The horrific stories, violations of law, and terrible lies coming from Planned Parenthood (and elsewhere) easily prove that women should never depend on the abortion giant. (More on how that one in five statement is a lie here.) It’s the statistics themselves that show we don’t need Planned Parenthood.
But since Planned Parenthood continues to claim that, if they are defunded, women will lack basic healthcare, let’s take a look at the real numbers.
How many women does Planned Parenthood actually serve?
The Guttmacher Institute – Planned Parenthood’s research arm – reports that there are 61 million reproductive-age women in the U.S.
According to Planned Parenthood’s 2013-2014 Annual Report the organization performs:
- 487,029 Breast exams/Breast care (Note that this is not mammograms.)
- 378,692 Pap tests
For 61 million women.
This means that, in one year, Planned Parenthood provides breast exams to just under 0.8% of the reproductive-age women in the United States.
New medical recommendations state that some women only need a Pap test every three years. If we add the number of Pap tests PP has conducted over the last three years, and compare this total to the 61 million reproductive-age women in the U.S., we can see what percent of these women Planned Parenthood serves in any given three-year testing cycle.
- 2013-2014: 378,692 Pap tests
- 2012-2013: 492,365 Pap tests
- 2011-2012: 585,978 Pap tests
Over the course of this three-year period, Planned Parenthood dropped the number of Pap tests provided by roughly 100,000 a year. In fiscal year 2013-2014, more than 200,000 less women received a Pap test at Planned Parenthood.
Over this three-year testing cycle, Planned Parenthood gave Pap tests to 1,457,035 women. (There is the chance that some women were tested multiple times, but let’s be generous, and count each test as an individual woman.)
These numbers mean that PP, at the most, performed Pap tests for slightly less than 2.4% of reproductive-age American women in this three-year cycle. With the continual huge drop in number of tests provided, the next three-year cycle is virtually certain to show an even smaller percentage of women served.
And yet, Planned Parenthood loudly cries that they are women’s best healthcare provider. That women depend on them; women need them; women will have nowhere to go without them.
Nowhere else to go, indeed.
The truth becomes even more obvious when, in contrast with these numbers, we consider that Planned Parenthood’s Senior Director of Medical Services stated that Planned Parenthood performs about 40% of the nation’s abortions.
- 40% of the nations abortions in one year (according to Planned Parenthood)
- 0.8% of reproductive-age women given a breast exam in one year
- 2.4%. of reproductive-age women given a Pap test in a three-year cycle
What does Planned Parenthood truly care about? Which business is most important?
The numbers don’t lie.
Live Action has already published articles detailing information on the thousands of federally qualified health centers and community health centers (not to mention the pregnancy resource centers) around the nation. These centers are ready and willing to provide comprehensive women’s healthcare – specifically to the low-income, inner city, college-age, and minority women whom Planned Parenthood says need its services.
The Senate bill to defund Planned Parenthood would not strip a single woman of dollars for basic healthcare. Instead, it would strip Planned Parenthood of the funds, and redirect the money over to the community health centers that would better serve women. We know it is possible to meet the needs of women without funding an organization that kills their children and parts them out to a buyer.
