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Calvin Freiburger


Trump to ban ‘family planning’ funds to clinics that perform or refer for abortions

Calvin Freiburger

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 19, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – President Donald Trump will announce today a long-awaited rule change that will forbid facilities that perform or refer for abortions from receiving Title X family planning funds. The move will come as a blow to abortion giant Planned Parenthood. 

The move, reported by multiple media outlets, originated as a proposal by senior White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, to require facilities performing Title X services to be physically separate from those that perform or refer for abortions. 

Under the current rules, Title X services and abortions may “co-locate” in the same center, as long as the abortions are privately funded. The money would be redirected to Women's Qualified Health Centers that are not involved in abortions, which dramatically outnumber Planned Parenthood locations across the United States.

"This proposal does not necessarily defund Planned Parenthood, as long as they're willing to disentangle taxpayer funds from abortion as a method of family planning, which is required by the Title X law," a Trump administration official told CNN. 

"Any grantees that perform, support, or refer for abortion have a choice -- disentangle themselves from abortion or fund their activities with privately raised funds." Such disentangling would entail requiring abortions to be performed at different facilities, and by different employees, than the one receiving Title X funds.

The majority of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding comes via Medicaid reimbursements and would not be affected, but the loss of more than $50 million per year would still be a significant blow to the abortion giant.

“Abortion advocates and Planned Parenthood's allies will likely try to claim poverty if these regulations are passed,” March for Life Action president Tom McClusky wrote Thursday in support of the change. “But during the 2013-2014 reporting year, Planned Parenthood reported $127 million in net income and $1.4 billion in held assets. They will likely claim that defunding them will increase the infant mortality rate (this claim was made after Texas defunded the abortion-giant, and was quickly found to be false.)”

Almost 200 Republican House and Senate members, as well as more than 80 pro-life leaders, have already sent the administration letters urging it to make the change, and those pro-life leaders are now celebrating the realization of their hopes.

“We thank President Trump for taking action to disentangle taxpayers from the abortion business,” Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said. “Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, is responsible for more than 300,000 abortions a year and has been receiving $50-60 million in Title X taxpayer funds annually.”

“President Trump has shown decisive leadership, delivering on a key promise to pro-life voters who worked so hard to elect him,” she continued. “This is a major victory which will energize the grassroots as we head into the critical midterm elections.”

The move brings President Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress one step closer to fulfilling their campaign promises to defund the nation’s largest abortion provider, but Planned Parenthood’s overall taxpayer funding exceeds $500 million per year. 

Previous efforts to defund the abortion industry through Obamacare repeal legislation failed last year, and in March the government enacted a budget that continues the abortion giant’s funding. Standalone defunding legislation has been introduced in Congress, but has yet to receive action.

Donald Trump ran his presidential campaign saying he is pro-life. He has proved time and again by his actions that he meant what he said. 

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