Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Investigation reveals that Planned Parenthood harvests the organs of aborted unborn children

Undercover videos released this summer reveal that Planned Parenthood, the nation's leading practitioner of abortion, sometimes harvests the body parts of babies killed by abortion. Planned Parenthood receives payment in exchange for the parts from companies that provide the tissue to researchers.

In one video, Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood's senior director of medical services, discusses how Planned Parenthood alters the dismemberment abortion process in order to preserve the desired organs and fill specific pre-orders.

"I'd say a lot of people want liver. And for that reason, most providers will do this case under ultrasound guidance, so they'll know where they're putting their forceps," she says. "We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I'm not gonna crush that part, I'm gonna basically crush below, I'm gonna crush above, and I'm gonna see if I can get it all intact."

A second video shows Mary Gatter, president of Planned Parenthood's Medical Directors' Council, negotiating the compensation for aborted baby parts with prospective buyers. She says that "the money is not the important thing, but it has to be big enough that it is worthwhile." Gatter concludes: "Let me just figure out what others are getting, and if this is in the ballpark, then it's fine, if it's still low, then we can bump it up." She then laughingly adds, "I want a Lamborghini."

Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, writes: "While Planned Parenthood in our state does not have a [fetal] tissue donation program, we stand behind our colleagues around the country [who do harvest fetal parts]."

A few key facts about Planned Parenthood:

  • Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS) is Minnesota's leading practitioner of abortion. The organization performed 4,981 abortions in 2014, nearly half of the statewide total.
  • PPMNS billed taxpayers $295,216 for 1,287 abortions in 2013.
  • PPMNS received more than $5 million in government grants and contracts in 2013.
  • Abortion facilities in Minnesota, including Planned Parenthood's abortion center in St. Paul, are unlicensed and uninspected by the state.
  • Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the nation's leading provider of abortion. The organization performed 327,653 abortions in 2013.
  • Planned Parenthood received $528.4 million from the government in the year ending in June 2014.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

2014 Abortion Report: Planned Parenthood performs more abortions than ever

This news release is a follow-up to the release earlier today

ST. PAUL — Planned Parenthood proved again to be Minnesota's largest abortionist and grew its market share even bigger despite only a small increase in abortions statewide, according to the state's annual Abortion Report issued today by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).

Planned Parenthood managed to increase its abortions by another 14.2 percent last year, following increases of 8.6 percent in 2012 and 11.6 percent in 2013. State abortion totals declined 5.4 percent over the same three-year period. Planned Parenthood's 2014 total of 4,990 abortions was its highest number ever, and a record market share of 49.3 percent of all abortions performed in Minnesota.

Despite Planned Parenthood, many of the 2014 statistics are encouraging. Just 307 abortions were performed on minors, representing 3 percent of the total. This is the second smallest number (295 in 2013) since the state began recording minor abortions in 1975 and represents a decline of 87 percent from their peak in 1980, the year prior to passage of Minnesota's Parental Notification law.

More than 12,000 women received factual, state provided information about abortion risks and complications, abortion alternatives and much more under the Woman's Right to Know law. MCCL helped to pass the informed consent law in 2003; state abortion numbers have decreased in all but two years since the law took effect. The 2014 increase of 2.2 percent is the first since MCCL helped to enact the Positive Alternatives law, which took effect in July 2006.

Not all of today's report is good news, however. Abortions were performed at a rate of more than 27 every single day last year. More than 40 percent of abortions in 2014 were performed on women who had undergone at least one prior abortion; 295 women had four or more previous abortions. The report also shows that African Americans remain a target of the abortion industry. They represent just 5.5 percent of the state's population, yet 23 percent of abortions were performed on African Americans.

Tax-funded abortions increased from 34.8 to 38.1 percent of all abortions last year. This is the highest percentage since the 1995 Doe v. Gomez decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court required taxpayers to pay for abortions performed on low-income women. This percentage has increased nearly every year since the court ruling. Taxpayers have funded 73,072 abortions since the decision.

Full reports for 2014 and prior years are available at the MDH website.

MDH Report: Abortions up slightly in 2014

The following news release was issued on July 1, 2015.

ST. PAUL — Abortion numbers in Minnesota increased slightly last year after having fallen for seven consecutive years to their lowest level since 1974, according to the state's 2014 Abortion Report. The report, issued today by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), showed that the vast majority of abortions performed in our state are done at five abortion facilities.

Nearly the same number of women had abortions last year as did in 2013, according to the latest report. The 2014 total of 10,123 represented an increase of 2.2 percent and the second-lowest annual number since 1975.

"Minnesota's five major abortion centers are not licensed or inspected by state agencies," said MCCL Executive Director Scott Fischbach. "This is all the more reason for women to turn away from the destruction of abortion and toward life-affirming alternatives."

State legislators have pressed for basic state oversight of the five remaining abortion facilities (two others have closed in recent years). Bills to license abortion clinics as outpatient surgical centers, which are licensed and inspected by the MDH, have been introduced in each of the past four years. The abortion industry has fervently opposed any licensing or inspection requirements, and Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed licensing legislation approved by the Legislature in 2012.

"There is no good reason for abortion providers to oppose being held to basic health facility standards," Fischbach said. "Their primary concern ought to be for their clients' health and safety, which would only be enhanced by state licensing and inspection."

More than half were performed on women in their 20s, and less than 3 percent on minors. A total of 12,231 women received the Woman's Right to Know informed consent information, meaning 2,108 women chose not to abort after learning about fetal development, abortion risks and complications, and abortion alternatives.

Today's report also shows that taxpayer funded abortions grew to 38.1 percent of all abortions reported in the state, the highest percentage since the 1995 Doe v. Gomez Supreme Court ruling requiring taxpayers to fund abortions.

Full reports for 2014 and prior years are available at the MDH website. MCCL will release a further analysis of the MDH Abortion Report later today.