{"id":163598,"date":"2017-03-28T15:00:02","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T19:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=163598"},"modified":"2019-06-08T15:23:04","modified_gmt":"2019-06-08T20:23:04","slug":"heres-how-your-taxpayer-dollars-are-funding-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/heres-how-your-taxpayer-dollars-are-funding-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s how your taxpayer dollars are funding abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The\u00a0Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has published shocking information dispelling Planned Parenthood’s deceptive talking points that federal taxpayers are not funding abortions. This information is critical, because if the American taxpayers\u00a0understood<\/a>\u00a0what their money really goes\u00a0to, they would oppose federal funding of the nation’s largest abortion provider, whose abortion market share is almost\u00a035 percent<\/a> nationally.<\/p>\n

Planned Parenthood’s Claims<\/strong><\/p>\n

Planned Parenthood and its supporters often claim<\/a>\u00a0that the federal tax dollars they receive are mere “reimbursements<\/a>,” and that tax dollars do not<\/a>\u00a0pay for abortions.\u00a0They base their claims in part on the federal Hyde Amendment, which, as Live Action News has previously<\/a>\u00a0pointed out, prevents federal dollars from funding most\u00a0<\/em>abortions\u00a0through Medicaid but holds an exception to allow funding in cases involving rape, incest, and life of the mother.<\/p>\n

Recently, Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota,\u00a0stated<\/a>, “No federal dollars go to pay for abortion in this country. They never have. It is illegal.” And\u00a0Dawn Laguens, the executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America,\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0The New York Times, “Let\u2019s be clear: Federal funds already do not pay for abortions[.]”<\/p>\n

Even\u00a0Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood’s CEO, stated<\/a>\u00a0the following to MSNBC without being challenged (go to 1:33 on video interview): “Federal funding doesn’t go for abortion \u2013\u00a0at all.\u00a0It hasn’t for many many years.”<\/p>\n

She also tweeted this “fact” (which isn’t a fact at all):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Despite Richards’\u00a0claim that federal dollars do not fund abortions, she was much more forthright\u00a0when asked about this (under oath) before a congressional hearing<\/a> in 2015, saying:<\/p>\n

\nNo federal funds pay for abortion services, except in the very limited circumstances permitted by law \u2014 when the woman has been raped, has been the victim of incest, or when her life is endangered.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

State Taxpayer Funding of Abortions<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Medicaid.gov<\/a>, the Medicaid program is jointly funded by the federal government and the states.\u00a0The federal government pays states for a specified percentage of program expenditures. Although this may change under the current administration and newly elected Congress, currently, states are disallowed<\/a>\u00a0from disqualifying providers who perform abortions.<\/p>\n

A March 2017 report published<\/a>\u00a0by Guttmacher (a pro-abortion organization with a long history of affiliation with Planned Parenthood<\/a>) breaks down the way those funds finance abortion. Even though some states use their own money to fund abortion, “at a minimum, states must cover those abortions that meet the federal exceptions.”<\/p>\n

Guttmacher\u00a0explains further, writing:<\/p>\n