Pro-life leaders condemn Planned Parenthood’s abortion increase in new report

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 13, 2022 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Planned Parenthood released its 2020–2021 annual report on Friday, revealing an increase in abortions and a decrease in other “services.”

For the year 2020, the nation’s largest abortion provider ended the lives of 383,460 unborn children. That number is 28,589 more abortions than those performed in 2019 by Planned Parenthood.

“To put this violence into perspective, this is equivalent to FIVE Super Bowl stadiums,” the March for Life tweeted in response to the new number.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research organization once associated with Planned Parenthood, there were 930,160 abortions total in the United States for 2020. This means that Planned Parenthood performed roughly 41% of all U.S. abortions that year.

In addition to the increase in abortions, Planned Parenthood affiliates also received more in taxpayer funding, or “Government Health Services Reimbursements & Grants.” It obtained $633.4 million for the 2020–2021 fiscal year, after receiving $618.1 million the previous year.

While abortions increased since the last report, almost every other category of “medical services” by Planned Parenthood centers decreased, including STI testing and treatment, contraceptive services, cancer screenings and prevention, and “other reproductive health services.” 

While Planned Parenthood reported that it provided approximately 10.4 million “total services” in 2019, that number decreased to 8.6 million in 2020. Planned Parenthood also saw a decrease in patients, from 2.4 million in 2019 to 2.16 million in 2020.

The new report defended abortion. 

“Planned Parenthood health centers are proud to provide abortion,” the report declares, calling abortion “essential health care.”

Only once did the report mention Roe v. Wade, which the Supreme Court overturned in June, leaving abortion up to the states.

“Who are we going to be? This is the question we’ve been asking ourselves, in the final months of nationwide abortion rights under Roe v. Wade,” the report reads. “And the answer to that question comes from Planned Parenthood’s mission of providing care and fighting for everyone’s right to access it, no matter what.” 

In response to the report, pro-life leaders condemned the new numbers — and Planned Parenthood’s timing in releasing them.

“Planned Parenthood thinks releasing their annual report on a Friday night will camouflage the rising body count, but almost 383,460 infants died from their ‘care’ over the last year as they profited in the billions,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, tweeted. “If your health care kills people, you’re doing it wrong.” 

As president of Live Action, Lila Rose pointed out the decrease in clients with the increase in abortion and taxpayer funding.

“Shut them down now!” she remarked, adding that Planned Parenthood ends the lives of roughly 1,051 babies per day.

Planned Parenthood did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.