Iowa’s governor has proposed to remove state funding of Planned Parenthood from the budget, but there’s a lot more to the story when it comes to taxpayer support of the abortion provider.
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland operates 13 locations in Iowa and receives tax dollars from several sources, not all of which will be cut off by promises to leave the abortion provider out of the budget.
In fact, even if Planned Parenthood is struck from the state budget, over $4 million will still be flowing to Planned Parenthood annually unless Iowa’s elected officials act.
Gov. Terry Branstad and most lawmakers will readily say that Planned Parenthood does NOT spend taxpayer money on abortion. Yet while this is true technically, it obscures the fact that most, if not all, funds are flexible in their use. A Planned Parenthood office may legally be allowed to use tax money to pay the rent and utilities on a clinic, while performing or referring abortions at the same location.
The FAMiLY LEADER believes that regardless of the various schemes used to extract money from the government, public funds should not be used in any fashion to aid and abet abortion providers.
Moreover, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland is currently under investigation for fraud and abuse as a Medicaid provider. With lawmakers desperate to find new money to support Medicaid for elderly and disabled citizens, it does not make sense to keep sending scarce Medicaid funds to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.
Finally, as the chart below details, several of Planned Parenthood’s funding sources may be federal tax money, but Iowa must enter into contracts in order to participate in the federal program.
Several of those contracts are due to terminate sometime this year. The governor and/or legislature would be well advised to NOT renew those contracts for the reasons outlined above. Or at the least, redirect those dollars to some of the over 213 federally qualified healthcare centers in Iowa that provide comprehensive healthcare services, but do not provide and advocate for abortion.
Now is the time to take action.
Please contact your legislator and ask them to stop ALL funding to abortion providers (like Planned Parenthood) and mandate that the Iowa Department of Public Health refuse to renew any of the contracts that expire this year.
