Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala (Pic via stearns.house.gov) Charmaine Yoest, the president of the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life, said in a recent interview that her organization is using the ongoing economic crisis to press for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Americans United for Life and other anti-abortion groups have had their sights set on Planned Parenthood for a while because some Planned Parenthood clinics offer legal abortion services, among other women’s health services.
“„Although pro-lifers have been critical of federal funding of Planned Parenthood for many years, Yoest thinks that the movement to defund the abortion provider may now be gathering momentum. The reason? The bad economy.
“„“The economic crisis gives traction for people to pay attention to how much money Planned Parenthood is getting from the government,” she said. “While the mainstream media may have the talking points about the need to support Planned Parenthood, economic concerns are real. Planned Parenthood gets $363 million a year. That’s a million dollars a day, and that’s an economic issue. We have nearly 10% unemployment, and we are subsidizing Planned Parenthood?”
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“„AUL is trying to hammer home the economic aspect of support for Planned Parenthood during a period of economic hardship.When Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman of California and Diana DeGette of Colorado tried to prevent Florida Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns of the Energy and Commerce Committee from obtaining documents about Planned Parenthood’s use of federal funding, Yoest put out a release calling their effort “misguided partisanship that is replacing fiscal responsibility.” [Emphasis mine.]