Hey .... Nic!

[curtinsea]

Not been involved in this but as a matter of interest,

any idea percetage- cost wise?

330K abortions a year with a budget of just a hair over $1B . . . it sure seems like it would have to be a very high percentage

[Niccivan]

I'm with you curt, 330k abortions a year is very alarming, and also very very sad. That's 330k people/couples who cant have children losing out on a wonderful opportunity of becoming a parent because someone is being selfish. Sad indeed.

[curtinsea]

I've seen this on a couple of web sites . . .

"according to Planned Parenthood itself, when it comes to services for pregnant women, abortion constituted 97.6 percent of the services Planned Parenthood provided in 2009. Only 2.4 percent of the organization's services for pregnant women involved prenatal care or adoption referrals.

Again, according to its own reports, Planned Parenthood performed 332,278 abortions in 2009 -- or more than a quarter of all abortions in the entire country. It receives about 37 percent of its total revenue from performing abortions. "

and this from MediaMatters.com

Planned Parenthood Receives 15% Of Its Annual Revenue From Abortion Services. According to data from the most recent Planned Parenthood Annual Report:

* Abortion accounted for 3 percent of total services (approximately 328,308 of 10,943,609 services)

* At an average cost of $500, total revenue from abortion services was approximately $164,154,000

* Revenue from abortion services was less than 15 percent of the total annual revenue, which was $1,100,800,000 [Planned Parenthood Annual Report 2008-2009, accessed 2/17/11]

The one above includes all government funding in it's total of annual revenue. Federal, State, and local government funding amounts to about 1/3 of total revenues.


According to Planned Parenthood's website, the cost of an abortion ranges from $350-650 for the Abortion Pill and from $350-950 for an in-clinic procedure


So 332,278 abortions at just $350 each, that equals $116,297,300 in revenue. That is a low side estimate, using the lowest end of the scale x the number of abortions. Using a median figure of $500 per abortion, equals $166,369,000 in revenue.

Their non-government revenues are around $600 million, with abortions accounting for roughly 27% of that.

I couldn't find anywhere where it says how many abortions they "give away". If that number is zero, then I have to agree that Federal funding is not going towards abortions. Federal funding amounts to about $75 million per year. The poor can get help from State run programs including medicaid.

This is from an advocacy group trying to stop funding for abortion in my state . . .

End taxpayer funding of abortions in Washington because:

1. Every year Washington spends over $7 million directly to pay for abortions, through the Medicaid program. If these funds are to be spent on anything, they would be better spent helping the mentally and physically disabled, tuition expenses for exceptional but poor students,

2. Washington is just one of a handful of states that uses tax money to pay for abortions.

3. The federal government has not paid for abortions for decades, recognizing that it is immoral to compel people to fund activities they find morally wrong.

4. With a multi-billion dollar deficit, Olympia cannot justify this expenditure when so many other programs, with broad public support, are being cut.

5. It is irresponsible to cut education funding while continuing to provide subsidies to the abortion industry.

6. The abortion industry is massively profitable. Subsidies for the abortion industry is like a subsidy for Microsoft. They simply don’t need them. If the abortion industry is really concerned with the health and well-being of women, they can provide their services without charge out of their significant annual profits.

7. Warren Buffett's wife has a standing offer with abortion clinics and hospitals around the country to pay for half the cost of any poor woman's abortion. They don't need tax money.

8. If the government believes this $7 million to pay for abortions is "worth it" because it will save taxpayers' money by not having to pay for other benefits to these children -- by killing them in utero -- let the children be born and say so explicitly.

9. The $7 million to pay for abortions through Medicaid is separate from the roughly $25 million the state pays out to Planned Parenthood for birth control and other reasons.)

10. Almost exactly half of all the abortions in Washington are now paid for with taxpayer's money.

I also saw an article saying that donations to Planned Parenthood are up 500% since this fight started, proving once and for all, imo, that they don't need the $75 million a year from the Federal government.

It's small potatos for sure, but we have to do some cutting. And as far as I am concerned, an organization that performs 330K abortions a year is not worthy of Federal funding. I would be more moved to support their continued funding if they did more adoption referrals and fewer abortions.

[DJQ]

The poor can get help from State run programs including medicaid.

Are you at all familiar with the medicaid program? I am. It's not a very easy process. I filled out mountains of paperwork, and it took almost 2 years to get accepted. 2 years! In that amount of time how many women with some form of cancer would have died before they got help?

as far as I am concerned, an organization that performs 330K abortions a year is not worthy of Federal funding. I would be more moved to support their continued funding if they did more adoption referrals and fewer abortions.

Once again I direct you to the Hyde Ammendment. It's already against the law to use Federal money for abortions. Something that the GOP just can't seem to understand.

Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means defending abortion. I'm personally against it with the exception of certain circumstances. Then again, if you take away all of the birth control and education they do, how many unwanted pregnancies will result in even more abortions?

[curtinsea]

Are you at all familiar with the medicaid program? I am. It's not a very easy process. I filled out mountains of paperwork, and it took almost 2 years to get accepted. 2 years! In that amount of time how many women with some form of cancer would have died before they got help?

As far as I can tell, Planned Parenthood isn't "giving away" any of their services. What is available from them are government subsidies of one form or another . . . you need to pay, either with insurance, out of pocket, or by qualifying for government assistance.

So to answer your question, I don't know. But I don't see that giving aid to Planned Parenthood changes the scenario you described either.

Once again I direct you to the Hyde Ammendment. It's already against the law to use Federal money for abortions. Something that the GOP just can't seem to understand.

The issue for Republicans is the matter of Federal funds being "fungible", in that there is no discernible difference where the money is applied once received. It's an arguable point for sure.

BTW, I did say above . . . .

I have to agree that Federal funding is not going towards abortions.

Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means defending abortion. I'm personally against it with the exception of certain circumstances. Then again, if you take away all of the birth control and education they do, how many unwanted pregnancies will result in even more abortions?

If Federal funding is $75 Mil of a $1.1Bil budget, and those "other services" account for 97% of their services, I don't see how losing a mere 7% of their total operating budget would have the catastrophic results the Democrats are claiming. I don't think it would be so hard for them to make up that small amount, especially when they are currently touting a 500% increase in contributions since this whole issue came up.