"PRO-LIFERS LOOK FOR CLOSURE AT PLANNED PARENTHOOD" - Tony Perkins, Washington Watch, February 28, 2019; https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20190228/closure-pp
If the courts thought they were busy before, they have liberals to thank for their caseloads now. In the last two years, Democrats have sued the Trump administration so often, you'd think they were getting a commission. HHS's announcement on family planning dollars was no different. The second it was filed, the Trump team was ready to head back to what must feel like a second office -- the courts.
Since the 1980s, pro-lifers have been fighting for a return to the days when family planning programs were not just financially separated from abortion clinics -- but physically too. After all, abortion isn't health care. But for years, the federal government has blurred that line by sending Title X dollars to the same location as some abortion clinics. That is, until last Friday, when HHS announced that groups like Planned Parenthood could only keep their family planning dollars if they moved their abortion services offsite.
It was a significant move -- one that could cost Leana Wen's group up to $60 million, the single largest drop in Planned Parenthood's taxpayer funding in almost 50 years. But, as the editors at NRO point out, what infuriates Planned Parenthood isn't so much the money (although that's no drop in the taxpayer bucket), "but that the federal government is distinguishing between family planning and abortion" at all.
"Planned Parenthood wants to be considered a benevolent health-care provider rather than the nation's largest abortion business, and it wants the cachet of the federal government's treating it as a valued and non-controversial partner. Hence the frequent, though long-debunked, claim that abortion makes up a mere 3 percent of the organization's activities. Planned Parenthood's own annual report tells the real tale: Last fiscal year alone, its facilities performed upwards of 332,000 abortion procedures, well over one-third the estimated abortions in the entire country."
So Wen's organization, along with longtime allies from states like Washington, are fighting the rule: a) because it hates severing any strand of the forced partnership with taxpayers, but also b) because it truly believes abortion is health care (and a lucrative one, at that). Bob Ferguson, the Evergreen State's attorney general, vowed to stop the common-sense rule, repeating the same lies about Planned Parenthood's services as everyone else on the Left. "Rural communities currently have a shortage of health care providers," he told reporters. "This rule will make the shortage even more acute."
That is absolutely and unequivocally false. There are thousands of federally-qualified health centers across America -- so many, in fact, that they outnumber Planned Parenthood clinics 20-to-one. They serve eight times more women than Wen's network without the baggage of performing abortions or the scandal of selling baby body parts. "Don't take away my breast and cancer screenings!" the Left protests. But the president can't take away something that never existed. In its last annual report, Americans saw how few "services" the group provided. Their cancer screenings dropped by 45,000 and other care like well-woman exams and prenatal services decreased by 13,000. (Of course, the number of mammograms performed at Planned Parenthood stayed the same: zero.)
The only "service" Planned Parenthood cares about is abortion. And it's proving it in states like Illinois, where local clinics are already saying they'd rather sacrifice millions in family planning dollars than give up a violent procedure that more Americans fiercely oppose. If the rule goes into effect in two months, "we won't accept the money," said Julie Lynn, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Illinois. Abortion -- not health care -- is their bottom line, which is exactly why they shouldn't be receiving taxpayer money in the first place.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
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PRAYER MATTERS:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world."
- Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer." - Stan
------------------------------------------------------------
Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/
In March, Open Doors is focusing on rebuilding hope for the church in the Middle East. This month, we invite you to pray specific and informed prayers for believers in Iraq and Syria as
we remember our brothers and sisters in these extremely volatile areas.
March 2 | SYRIA - In several areas of Iraq and Syria, Open Doors is partnering with local churches to help build Centers of Hope that will be a source of aid and community. Pray for the centers planned in Ma’arouneh, Kesab, Mashta, Al Helou and one on the outskirts of Damascus.
*Names changed to protect identities
"PRO-LIFERS LOOK FOR CLOSURE AT PLANNED PARENTHOOD" - Tony Perkins, Washington Watch, February 28, 2019; https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20190228/closure-pp
Since the 1980s, pro-lifers have been fighting for a return to the days when family planning programs were not just financially separated from abortion clinics -- but physically too. After all, abortion isn't health care. But for years, the federal government has blurred that line by sending Title X dollars to the same location as some abortion clinics. That is, until last Friday, when HHS announced that groups like Planned Parenthood could only keep their family planning dollars if they moved their abortion services offsite.
It was a significant move -- one that could cost Leana Wen's group up to $60 million, the single largest drop in Planned Parenthood's taxpayer funding in almost 50 years. But, as the editors at NRO point out, what infuriates Planned Parenthood isn't so much the money (although that's no drop in the taxpayer bucket), "but that the federal government is distinguishing between family planning and abortion" at all.
So Wen's organization, along with longtime allies from states like Washington, are fighting the rule: a) because it hates severing any strand of the forced partnership with taxpayers, but also b) because it truly believes abortion is health care (and a lucrative one, at that). Bob Ferguson, the Evergreen State's attorney general, vowed to stop the common-sense rule, repeating the same lies about Planned Parenthood's services as everyone else on the Left. "Rural communities currently have a shortage of health care providers," he told reporters. "This rule will make the shortage even more acute."
That is absolutely and unequivocally false. There are thousands of federally-qualified health centers across America -- so many, in fact, that they outnumber Planned Parenthood clinics 20-to-one. They serve eight times more women than Wen's network without the baggage of performing abortions or the scandal of selling baby body parts. "Don't take away my breast and cancer screenings!" the Left protests. But the president can't take away something that never existed. In its last annual report, Americans saw how few "services" the group provided. Their cancer screenings dropped by 45,000 and other care like well-woman exams and prenatal services decreased by 13,000. (Of course, the number of mammograms performed at Planned Parenthood stayed the same: zero.)
The only "service" Planned Parenthood cares about is abortion. And it's proving it in states like Illinois, where local clinics are already saying they'd rather sacrifice millions in family planning dollars than give up a violent procedure that more Americans fiercely oppose. If the rule goes into effect in two months, "we won't accept the money," said Julie Lynn, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Illinois. Abortion -- not health care -- is their bottom line, which is exactly why they shouldn't be receiving taxpayer money in the first place.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
If the courts thought they were busy before, they have liberals to thank for their caseloads now. In the last two years, Democrats have sued the Trump administration so often, you'd think they were getting a commission. HHS's announcement on family planning dollars was no different. The second it was filed, the Trump team was ready to head back to what must feel like a second office -- the courts.
Since the 1980s, pro-lifers have been fighting for a return to the days when family planning programs were not just financially separated from abortion clinics -- but physically too. After all, abortion isn't health care. But for years, the federal government has blurred that line by sending Title X dollars to the same location as some abortion clinics. That is, until last Friday, when HHS announced that groups like Planned Parenthood could only keep their family planning dollars if they moved their abortion services offsite.
It was a significant move -- one that could cost Leana Wen's group up to $60 million, the single largest drop in Planned Parenthood's taxpayer funding in almost 50 years. But, as the editors at NRO point out, what infuriates Planned Parenthood isn't so much the money (although that's no drop in the taxpayer bucket), "but that the federal government is distinguishing between family planning and abortion" at all.
"Planned Parenthood wants to be considered a benevolent health-care provider rather than the nation's largest abortion business, and it wants the cachet of the federal government's treating it as a valued and non-controversial partner. Hence the frequent, though long-debunked, claim that abortion makes up a mere 3 percent of the organization's activities. Planned Parenthood's own annual report tells the real tale: Last fiscal year alone, its facilities performed upwards of 332,000 abortion procedures, well over one-third the estimated abortions in the entire country."
So Wen's organization, along with longtime allies from states like Washington, are fighting the rule: a) because it hates severing any strand of the forced partnership with taxpayers, but also b) because it truly believes abortion is health care (and a lucrative one, at that). Bob Ferguson, the Evergreen State's attorney general, vowed to stop the common-sense rule, repeating the same lies about Planned Parenthood's services as everyone else on the Left. "Rural communities currently have a shortage of health care providers," he told reporters. "This rule will make the shortage even more acute."
That is absolutely and unequivocally false. There are thousands of federally-qualified health centers across America -- so many, in fact, that they outnumber Planned Parenthood clinics 20-to-one. They serve eight times more women than Wen's network without the baggage of performing abortions or the scandal of selling baby body parts. "Don't take away my breast and cancer screenings!" the Left protests. But the president can't take away something that never existed. In its last annual report, Americans saw how few "services" the group provided. Their cancer screenings dropped by 45,000 and other care like well-woman exams and prenatal services decreased by 13,000. (Of course, the number of mammograms performed at Planned Parenthood stayed the same: zero.)
The only "service" Planned Parenthood cares about is abortion. And it's proving it in states like Illinois, where local clinics are already saying they'd rather sacrifice millions in family planning dollars than give up a violent procedure that more Americans fiercely oppose. If the rule goes into effect in two months, "we won't accept the money," said Julie Lynn, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Illinois. Abortion -- not health care -- is their bottom line, which is exactly why they shouldn't be receiving taxpayer money in the first place.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
----------------------------------------
|
PRAYER MATTERS:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world."
- Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer." - Stan
------------------------------------------------------------
Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/
In March, Open Doors is focusing on rebuilding hope for the church in the Middle East. This month, we invite you to pray specific and informed prayers for believers in Iraq and Syria as
we remember our brothers and sisters in these extremely volatile areas.
March 2 | SYRIA - In several areas of Iraq and Syria, Open Doors is partnering with local churches to help build Centers of Hope that will be a source of aid and community. Pray for the centers planned in Ma’arouneh, Kesab, Mashta, Al Helou and one on the outskirts of Damascus.
*Names changed to protect identities |
So, my understanding from the article is as follows. 1) HHS ruling requires clinics to separate healthcare services from abortion services to receive federal funds. 2) Planned Parenthood refuses, claiming that abortion is healthcare. My reaction is as follows: 1) Abortion is a very contentious issue. It seems responsible to take funding for non-controversial services and let everyone work out the moral and practical nuances of what is controversial. 2) Perhaps Planned Parenthood is fighting so hard to count abortion as healthcare because abortion is so integral to the health of PP's business. As the article states, abortion seems to be the only operation it cares about.
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