The American Spectator : The Profitable Nonprofit

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The Profitable Nonprofit

By David N. Bass on 4.27.09 @ 6:06AM

Unholy profits for Planned Parenthood -- again.

Left-wing activists are indignant at obscene oil company profits, hefty CEO bonuses, and sweet golden parachutes -- but what about expansion of the No. 1 violator of human rights in the United States?

No, it's not Dick Cheney and the CIA. It's Planned Parenthood. The abortion giant took home $85 million in "excess of revenue over expenses" (a nifty way of saying profits) and had an operating budget of over $1 billion for the 2007-2008 fiscal year, according to its latest annual report. Included in that budget was $350 million in "government grants and contracts" (an equally nifty way of saying your tax dollars). An increase in the number of abortions performed helped fuel the profits.

The new numbers come on the heels of a spat of stories suggesting that recessionary times are contributing to a spike in abortions. Reuters gives anecdotal evidence that, because of the economy, more women are getting abortions and more men vasectomies. An Associated Press story reports that Planned Parenthood of Illinois clinics conducted "an all-time high number of abortions in January."

Ironically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report in March showing that the United States birthrate in 2007 reached its highest level ever, surpassing the peak of the baby boom in 1957. But those numbers were before the stock market tanked, unemployment numbers spiked, and a president compared the crisis to the Great Depression -- leading many families to believe that starting a family, or adding another child, would break the bank.

That leads to a critical truth. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the abortion on demand ethic, it's obvious that hard economic times translate into more customers for abortion and family planning providers. Planned Parenthood admits as much in its annual reporting, saying that when "men and women face increasing economic uncertainty and decreasing access to affordable health care, Planned Parenthood matters even more."

Now, with a White House that has promised to funnel unprecedented amounts of taxpayer dollars into the abortion industry, Planned Parenthood has even more reason to rejoice. Despite its political and economic gains, however, the group is still attempting to walk the public relations tightrope by making ample use of lies, damned lies, and statistics.

Adoption is one example. Planned Parenthood's report boasts that, in 2007, "the number of adoption referrals at Planned Parenthood health centers increased by more than 100 percent. The number of abortions provided rose by a little more than five percent."

The percentages appear significant until one examines the hard numbers. In 2007, Planned Parenthood increased its number of adoption referrals by 2,502 for a total of 4,912 referrals. But it conducted 15,560 more abortions during the same period, totaling 305,310 abortions in all. For every adoption referral, therefore, Planned Parenthood conducted 62 abortions. Whoopty doo dang.

The reason for the wide disparity is not hard to guess. The financial incentive lies with abortion, not adoption. It's a PR boon to throw in the referrals, since it helps the group keep its pro-choice misnomer, but abortion and contraception services bring home the real bacon.

Uncle Sam helps, too. The federal government has morphed into Planned Parenthood's sugar daddy, and the co-dependency is only going to get worse in the age of Obama. Fully one-third of the organization's revenue last year came from the government, compared with less than one-fourth from private contributions. If Planned Parenthood can't get your money voluntarily, its advocates in Congress will coercively.

That's why limited government advocates have a stake in the pro-life cause. On April 15, over one million Americans flocked to state capitals, public parks, and town halls to protest runaway government spending -- and rightly so. Although most of the movement's furor was directed at bailouts and stimulus packages, government's love tryst with the abortion lobby should be exhibit A in the tea partiers' future arsenal.

The first target should be Obama's executive order rescinding the Mexico City Policy, which had ensured that American taxpayer funds would never be used for overseas abortions. The move didn't get much ink because of the media's preoccupation with the economic crisis, but it stands as an example of both Obama's abortion radicalism and intention, even in a troubled economy, to throw public money at groups that helped him get elected.

Maybe Obama views the abortion industry similarly to AGI -- too big to fail.

About the Author

David N. Bass is a journalist who writes from the Old North State. Follow him on Twitter.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (18) | Leave a comment

Lu| 4.27.09 @ 7:53AM

Aren't these the same people that are against waterboarding , a slap on the face , standing in one place to long for terrorists? What does the word hypocrite mean?

Gill O'Teen| 4.27.09 @ 9:53AM

Never forget that the butcher-in-chief believes that abortion does not adequately do the job of reducing the number of future Acorn community organizers. He thinks it's fitting and proper to allow babies, who miraculously survived the attempts of the homicidal maniacs costumed as medical practitioners to shred their young bodies into hamburger, to die as their lives are inconvenient. Never mind that these children became U.S. Citizens the moment they were born, and that as a Constitutional Instructor at CUBA (Chicago University of Bill Ayres) our blue-lipped genie surely knows that. And he wants to take over our health care and become the ultimate authority for determining which other American Citizens lead inconvenient lives.

If you doubt me, take a moment and read this passage from the United States Constitution:
"Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868."
"1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Pretty straightforward language.

JJ JR| 4.27.09 @ 10:08AM

Y'all,

Obamanation is so concerned with water in the nostrils of those that would kill thousands of innocents, but turns a blind eye and votes three times as an Illinois state senator AGAINST the "born alive" Act which would have doctors administer live saving treatment to a baby who survives the abortionist! Oh, wait a minute--this is entirely consistent--Obamanation is FOR the slaughter of innocents in both cases! I feel better now . . . .(NOT!!)

The Roe Effect| 4.27.09 @ 11:48AM

I remember reading abut the Roe Effect in the Wall Street Journal back in 2004. The analysis was that of the 45 million abortions YTD at the time----it was suggested that most of them were women who were Democrats and therefore not having that child, a potential Democrat voter.

It didn't get much play. I think Freakonomics touched on it. Was also suggested why liberals want amnesty for illegals. More democrat voters.

Will we see a dramatic rise in abortions now?
Were there more than usual just after the election (because it was reported record number of people had sex the night or night after Obam's election win).

Maybe they went out and had an abortion, if they got pregnant that night -----in his honor? If there is such a thing as honor left in the "left".

Bill| 4.27.09 @ 12:02PM

Let me see if I have this right. We can't use enhanced means of getting information from those who want to harm this country but we can kill unborn children. What happened to common sense?

ben| 4.27.09 @ 3:03PM

So, slapping someone, shoving them up against a false wall, forced nudity, and interrupting sleep patterns is torture, but jamming a metal tube into the skull, sucking out the brain matter and crushing the skull isn't.

george| 4.27.09 @ 5:19PM

I love how there was an automatic and predictable link between water boarding, abortions and bail outs. is that really all you have left? besides from your religion? making a huge deal about someone lying and doctoring a video? show of hands, how many have actually watched the doctored video? yeah i thought so. there's nothing more in that video then someone providing a patient with options. show of hands how many in here are rape specialist? and know exact protocol for the situation presented in that video? figured.
you're all under the idiotic premise that life begins at inception? yeah, well that's YOUR belief. that's the beauty of this country; I'm free to believe life does not begin the moment sperm touches the egg. just as you're free to believe there's this magical sentient being in the sky that over looks 7 billion lives in this planet and is keeping tabs on who's living according to his plan and who's not.... santa anyone?
how about this... instead of aborting babies we'll give you the babies and you can torture them ALL you want; waterboard, electrocute, etc. the works! therefore, satisfying your wacky beliefs of saving life to torture life.
the only reason i suggest this is because you obviously don't believe in these things called rights and want to be pushy about what you so believe is right.
there's a real good question posted on here; " what happen to common sense?" my guess would be common sense was aborted by Religious Americans.

Lynn| 4.27.09 @ 5:30PM

I don't believe in abortions but I also don't believe in adoption in the way it is worked in todays world. To the author of this article, I do wonder why you attack one industry making a huge profit off of a pregnant woman but completely ignore the huge profits made by the adoption industry as well. Until the risks and truth of BOTH money-making, greedy industries are brought into light and the truth is told, you won't ever have a chance in the conduct of today's society and the way it abuses a pregnant woman.

Matt| 4.27.09 @ 9:15PM

George,
You're wrong. You're hostile. You're childish. And you don't know the language.

If life doesn't begin at CONception when does it? Since we can't be sure shouldn't we not kill those people?

I watched the entire and the edited hidden video from Planned Parenthood. I say the situation is clear and the Planned Parenthood staff is at least untrained and at worst conspiring to avoid the law to give another girl an abortion. What part of Statutory Rape makes it OK?

Since God IS and you're wrong how should I treat you? Answer: with compassion and justice. Couldn't you do the same for the unborn child and the uninformed mother?

Matt| 4.27.09 @ 9:21PM

George,
You're wrong. You're hostile. You're childish. And you don't know the language.

If life doesn't begin at CONception when does it? Since we can't be sure shouldn't we not kill those people?

Since God IS and you're wrong how should I treat you? Answer: with compassion and justice. Couldn't you do the same for the unborn child and the uninformed mother?

Don L| 4.28.09 @ 6:51AM

If one were to dust off the copies of C.S.Lewis' "Screwtape Letters" you'd find the method behind the abortion game exposed very well, but the information that it is an "abomanation" and is diabolically caused, must remain classified.

Man cannot do evil until he first calls the evil he would do - a great good!

JamesJ| 4.28.09 @ 7:53AM

George...you sound like you're having a twinge of guilt...good welcome to humanity

Nick in Virginia| 4.28.09 @ 9:25AM

George,

When you mentioned "someone lying and doctoring a video", the first thing that came to mind was "why did he bring Al Gore and his movie into the abortion discussion"?

As for "is that all you've got", I think the 45,000,000 babies who have had their lives stripped away from them, through no fault of their own, without due process (as a previous writer pointed out) should be enough reason for a person with an IQ larger than their shoe size to have a lot of second thoughts about abortion.

But from reading your post, you apparently don't fit in that category. Too bad for you. Your Democratic Party bosses probably won't pay you for your asinine letter, and if you keep on making such stupid statements they might drop you from their payroll completely.

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Getting Hercules to Help You

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Once you have the five items, bring them to Athena. Zeus will appear and steal them. The big jerk! Once this happens, talk to Athena and she will tell you that Hercules will help you.poptropica
. You’ll need to have the magic mirror from Aphrodite because Hercules doesn’t want to have to walk. He’s so lazy!
Getting the Hydra Scale

You can see how to do this in the videos, but basically you need to jump up when the Hydra is about to strike. He will rear one of his heads back to attack and his eyes will bulge out.Poptropica When this happens, jump up in the air and then try to land on top of his head. That head will get knocked out. When all five heads get knocked out, the Hydra will be asleep and you can click on him to get one of the scales. poptropica

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