Planned Parenthood dominates abortion in Minnesota and across the United States. But its very small role in reproductive services continues to shrink even as it grows its abortion business, according to its latest annual reports.
"Planned Parenthood's services in Minnesota are extremely limited—and it is consolidating its operations," said MCCL Executive Director Scott Fischbach. "Money and abortion have emerged as its primary goals."
But that's not the public perception it propagates. Just last August Minnesota's U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar falsely claimed in a television interview that "a great majority of women in this country get their health care" from Planned Parenthood.
The statement from Klobuchar was wildly inaccurate. Its Minnesota clients last year hit a five-year low of just 64,000 in a state of 5.5 million residents. Nationally, Planned Parenthood reaches less than one percent of the U.S. population.
Clearly there is no truth to Sen. Klobuchar's statement. But she remains a reliable friend of Planned Parenthood with a 100 percent pro-abortion voting record.
Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar corporation driven to grow. Nationwide, it receives about $550 million a year from federal and state government sources. Government funding increased significantly during the Obama administration.
President Trump and many members of Congress want to reverse that trend and defund the abortion industry. A vote to that end passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last spring and was nearly approved in the Senate in July. Minnesota's Sens. Klobuchar and Franken voted to continue funding the abortion industry. Ongoing efforts are focused on plans that would replace Obamacare.
MCCL's own defunding efforts led to passage of a ban on taxpayer funding of abortion in the 2017 legislative session. The bill was vetoed by Gov. Dayton.
Along with fewer clients, Planned Parenthood provides fewer services. Its units of contraception sold in the state were down 22 percent last year—and this from an organization that claims its contraceptives sales are the reason why state abortion numbers are at 40-year lows.
Planned Parenthood did not even report breast exams, pap tests or HPV vaccinations in its 2016 annual report as it did in previous years. But these numbers were in decline in the previous two reports, some by as much as 30 percent per year.
Also in steep decline is the number of facilities. In 2010 Planned Parenthood had 25 clinics across Minnesota; today the number is 17. And some of those locations are open fewer than 10 hours per week, serving primarily as feeder clinics to its single abortion facility in St. Paul.
So where is the growth at Planned Parenthood? You guessed it—revenue and abortion.
The abortion organization received more government funds than ever last year—a total of $5.3 million. Its total annual revenue nearly doubled from 2006 to 2016 to more than $41 million.
"Planned Parenthood is driven to increase revenue by any means possible, even by taking advantage of vulnerable women," Fischbach said.
While overall abortion numbers in the state have fallen from 14,000 to just under 10,000 in the last 10 years, Planned Parenthood has managed to increase its abortions by 54 percent over the same period.
Planned Parenthood now performs 56.5 percent of all abortions in the state; in 2006 it did just 26 percent. This is a stunning market share achievement, particularly considering the 30 percent drop in total abortions over the last decade.
The secret to Planned Parenthood's dramatic increase of its business is taxpayer funded abortions. The organization aggressively markets "free" abortions to low-income, abortion-vulnerable women.
Planned Parenthood nearly tripled its taxpayer-funded abortion business from 2006 to 2015 (latest numbers available). It now performs more than 2,000 of these "free" abortions every year.
More revenue and abortions, fewer facilities, clients and services. This is the story of Planned Parenthood in Minnesota.
"Planned Parenthood's concentrated focus on abortion should concern everyone," Fischbach concluded. "Abortion numbers would be much lower without Planned Parenthood's relentless killing of unborn children."
This article first appeared in the September-October 2017 issue of MCCL News.