Planned Parenthood aka Prevent Parenthood

By  Bernard Long (Guest Columnist, Volunteer Devotional Leader at City Team International Ministries; Facilitator of St. Pius X men’s Faith sharing and Gospel Reflection group and Co-host of Pro Life America Radio)

Planned Parenthood aka Prevent Parenthood:

Upon arriving home from the inspiring March for Life in Washington DC (January 27, 2017)  I turned on the TV to see coverage of the March on MSNBC Hard Ball with Chris Matthews. He was interviewing Abby Johnson a former Planned Parenthood Director who is now pro life and the author of several books and the founder of an organization – “Then There Was None”. Instead of relaxing I found myself talking to the TV screen feeling so happy for Abby’s witness and so saddened and angered by Chris Matthews’ questions and point of view.

This interview was not just about opinions concerning abortions but also about facts about Planned Parenthood that at this stage of the pro life – pro abortion argument should be well known but sadly are not known.

Abby Johnson talked about being in the abortion business for eight years. That experience revealed to her the “corruption of the abortion industry” and that abortion hurts women as well as the baby.

Chris Matthews asks Abby – are women coerced into abortions? Abby responds that Planned Parenthood has abortion quotas. Women come into Planned Parenthood scared and vulnerable. Planned Parenthood tells the Mom that they can take care of it and make the “problem” go away today for about $450. So Abby says it is a woman’s decision but Planned Parenthood encourages women to terminate their pregnancy.

Abby goes on to say that Planned Parenthood does not provide pre natal care for Moms who want to have their baby. Mathews is incredulous.  “So you say” he says. Again, remember this lady was a director at Planned Parenthood.  Matthews says that he heard from his producer that Planned Parenthood’s website says they provide pre-natal care. Abby confidently says that the website does say that but there is not one Planned Parenthood in the country that provides pre-natal care. They provide Pap Smears, SDI tests and treatment, abortions and contraception – no mammograms, no pre-natal care, and no adoption services.

Chris Matthews can’t believe the no mammograms provided claim. Matthews promises to get back to his viewers who support Planned Parenthood with answers.

The last part of interview has Matthews talking about who gets punished if abortion is outlawed. Abby responds that the doctor who performed the abortion and the clinic would face civil fines or possible criminal punishment. Matthews is not happy and he presses Abby – is it murder?  If it is murder then act on it – if not stop saying it is murder. “Punishing the doctor is a cute way of avoiding the question”.  He calls the position of not punishing the woman as a “conflict with the truth.”  He ends by saying to Abby you have a “strange point of view– you are entitled to your opinion even if it is confused.  Wow! Really!

Planned Parenthood facts:

All of this information comes from the web site liveactionnews.org.

In 2015 Planned Parenthood performed 323,999 abortions. That is 887 a day, 37 every hour, 1 every 97 seconds.

They perform 30% of the nation’s abortions but only 1% of pap tests and 1.8% of breast exams-no mammograms, no pre-natal care, and no adoption services.  They will abort your baby but they will not provide the mom with medical care to help her to have her baby.

Abby Johnson is right.  Planned Parenthood does not provide pre-natal care. Check out the liveactionnews.org  website. You will see a video of a young lady calling numerous different Planned Parenthood offices asking for pre-natal care and being told over and over – no pre-natal care. They even admit on the phone that it is a conflict to be called Planned Parenthood since they don’t help someone who is planning on being a parent. So if you are pregnant and you freely choose to have your baby Planned Parenthood will not help you.

They will provide contraception and abortion for sure though.

Seems to me they should not be called Planned Parenthood but Prevent Parenthood. They do nothing to foster parenthood but the vast majority of services are to prevent being a parent – so sad!

One other important fact – over and over again Planned Parenthood claims that only 3% of their services are for abortion.   The 3% figure is on their website and is always quoted by pro choice people. Well, 1 in every 8 patients who receive any services from Planned Parenthood receives an abortion. So they claim 1 in 33 – when it is really 1  in 8 patients . They get the 3% by measuring each service. So if a woman comes in for an abortion she gets a pregnancy test, 1 STD test, 1 Abortion, 1 contraception service. So on that alone, women who receive an abortion in a visit they count only 25% of the service as an abortion. A pregnancy test is like 10 bucks but an abortion price range is from over $300 to over a $1,500.

One last point on the 3% claim – Planned Parenthood desperately wants to retain their government funding. They spent a fortune lobbying for pro choice candidates. Well if only 3% of services are for abortion then why not just stop doing abortions and then they could receive government funding and save all the money they spent on lobbying.  After all, if abortion is only 3% of business then why all this effort? Just drop abortions and their problems go away.  As Abby Johnson says, abortion is their main revenue producer. They know that without abortion they have no reason to exist.

Punishment for abortion

I have heard Chris Mathews say he does not understand the pro life position. What I have heard him say many times is he does not understand how outlawing of abortion can be enforced. He does not discuss actual morality of abortion but only focuses on enforcement. It is clear that he believes this is the weak point of the pro life argument.

He desperately wants pro lifers to say the women or moms will be punished if they have an abortion. He was proud of the fact that he got Trump to say it to him. Trump reversed himself later.  He knows that punishing the woman will create an outcry from women especially – how could you punish the poor woman? You want to force a woman to have a baby against her will or put them in jail?

So when he hears the response that leaves women or moms out of the punishment answer he desperately wants to bring them back in or lose his argument. So he says – if it is murder then how can you not punish the woman? Well in my mind the doctor performs the abortion and kills the baby. Planned Parenthood and other hospitals and clinics perform the abortion.  They are clearly at fault and are motivated often by money. They are not in a crisis like the mom.

It seems to me the person that has a conflict with the truth is Chris Matthews.  He is Catholic and is a “personally against abortion BUT….” person. If you believe the truth is that abortion is wrong then why would you desperately fight to keep it legal and to castigate pro-lifers as being confused.  The goal of the pro life cause is to help moms freely choose to have their babies. If abortion is restricted by law it will save babies’ lives. It will never stop the need for organizations like Legacy for Life or Alpha Care or Mothers Home or Birth Right from reaching out to Moms and providing a loving environment for them to have their babies. I believe that the vast majority of women who have an abortion do not want to have one but feel trapped, pressured and it is our obligation to help them become a parent.

So we have a choice – PP Prevent Parenthood or HP Help Parenthood. I think the truth is Jesus would be on the HP side.