IN THIS ISSUE: Live on tape - Congressmen Weigh In on the Need to
Investigate and De-Fund Planned Parenthood
GOP has 'blueprint for action' on Planned Parenthood
“While Congress is discussing going deeper in debt and raising the debt ceiling, our government is spending over $360 million dollars annually on Planned Parenthood and quietly subsidizing the world’s largest abortion provider with $1 million a day,” said AULA President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest at Congressional event.
In response to AUL’s groundbreaking report on Planned Parenthood – outlining the reasons why the abortion mega-provider should be investigated – Congress took to the microphone last week, calling for hearings.
At right: Rep. Chris Smith, Rep. Jean Schmidt, Rep. Diane Black & Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
“The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which receives about $1 million a day in taxpayer funds, should be investigated by Congress, a group of House Republicans said in a Capitol Hill event Thursday,” reported the Washington Times along with other media outlets. (Click here for media coverage.)
The news conference was co-hosted by leading freshmen Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) and Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL). Other Congressional leaders attending included Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH), Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), and Rep. John Fleming (R-LA).
The report is “a blueprint for action,” said Rep. Smith.
Planned Parenthood is “ripe for investigation,” he continued. “It should not be a sacrosanct organization or a politically correct organization that evades that kind of scrutiny.” (To see Rep. Smith’s remarks, click here.)
News conference organizer Rep. Ellmers agreed, “The issue today is should American taxpayer dollars be going to pay for abortions. Overwhelmingly we’ve heard from the American people that they don’t want to see their funds going that way regardless of how you feel about that particular issue. The money can be much better spent elsewhere.”
At left: Rep. Renee Ellmers and Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
Americans United for Life is at the center of the debate. Dr. Charmaine Yoest was invited to speak about “The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood,” produced by AUL’s legal team who pored over 20 years of Planned Parenthood records, research and materials to provide the analysis and information that so impressed the congressmen and women.
“AUL’s Report documents that as the government funding of Planned Parenthood has doubled since 1998, the number of abortions performed by Planned Parenthood has also doubled,” said Dr. Yoest.
The president and CEO of AULA called for hearings and investigations “considering the pattern of Medicaid fraud among Planned Parenthood affiliates and the organization’s misuse of federal funds to subsidize its abortion business.” (Click here to watch Dr. Yoest deliver her remarks.)
Momentum is building for an investigation of the systemic financial irregularities outlined in AUL’s report, now circulating nationwide. “The timing is perfect for hearings as we look toward the 2012 budget debates,” Dr. Yoest discussed in media interviews, “because Congress often investigates organizations before defunding them.”
To learn more about “The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood” or to download a copy, click here.
To watch video of the Capitol Hill news event, click here.
