Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast has not been using government funds to provide or recommend abortions in Louisiana, according to a report released Monday morning by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.
"We found no indication that Planned Parenthood had recommended that a patient have an abortion or had performed an abortion for patients in our sample," said Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera in a letter to state Sen. Danny Martiny, R-Metairie, and state Rep. Frank Hoffman, R-West Monroe.
Martiny and Hoffman sponsored legislation last year that called for a widespread investigation and monitoring of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast to see if it was using public funding to recommend or provide abortions. The Legislature passed Martiny and Hoffman's resolutions overwhelmingly.
Planned Parenthood does not currently offer abortions at its sites in Louisiana, but the organization is building a new facility in New Orleans, where it has said it will provide the procedure.
Martiny and Hoffman pushed their legislation, in part, because Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast had been accused of using Medicaid funds inappropriately in Texas. The organization settled in a civil suit over the matter last summer, but has continued to deny any wrongdoing in that case.
The Louisiana auditor's office examined 26,000 Planned Parenthood claims that qualified for Medicaid reimbursements and found that all the payments were made for allowable procedures. Within the 26,000 claims, the auditor identified 22 patients who suffered miscarriages and reviewed six of those cases, where no abortion counseling was offered.
"Based on the file reviews, we did not find any indication that Planned Parenthood recommended an abortion or performed an abortion for these patients," Purpera wrote in his letter to state legislators.
What? Does this mean that Planned Parenthood was actually telling the truth and using government funds to do things such as provide birth control, educate women about STD's, and provide cancer screenings?
This is very important as it is part of the conservative's coordinated efforts to undermine Planned Parenthood, because in their mind it is an abortion mill even though providing termination of pregnancies only accounts for 3% of the services they provide.
The conservatives have successfully used misinformation and scare tactics in places like Texas to support slashing funds and essentially driving clinics out of business.
The truth is that Planned Parenthood has had a dramatic effect on the number of unintended pregnancies, and therefore greatly reduced the number of abortions in this country.
IF the conservatives were really interested in keeping the number of abortions to a minimum, instead of forcing pregnant women to give birth to children they are unprepared to raise, they would be working to provide Planned Parenthood with all they funds they could possibly use and trumpeting their successes far and wide.
This segment made me laugh and cry. Laugh because it was excellent comedy, cry because it had to be said in 2014.
ReplyDeleteJon Stewart and The Daily Show’s “senior black correspondent,” Larry Wilmore, drove a stake through Confederate apologists’ arguments Monday night in an epic segment.
Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano said during a Feb. 14 panel discussion that he held a “contrarian position” on Abraham Lincoln, and Stewart played a video clip of his claims.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/25/daily-show-obliterates-fox-news-confederate-apologist-i-just-un-fcked-your-facts/
I just wonder how many tax dollars went to funding this study.
ReplyDeletePlease Proceed, Conservatives. You are slowly but surely (1) killing yourselves off by refusing gun controls, (2) dumbing your children down so much they will soon be competing for slots in remedial programs at your local community college instead of trying to become doctors and lawyers (and thus, will only find a lucrative career as rightwing broadcasters,) (3) ensuring that there will be millions of minority babies born in the next decade, since rich white women will still find abortions if they want them, (4) turning more and more people away from the church as you try to inflict the entire country with your narrow and wrong views, and (5) losing out at the ballot box, which will pave the way for more progressives to obtain office and actually WORK for this country of ours.
ReplyDeleteWonkette strikes again:
ReplyDeletehttp://wonkette.com/542642/click-here-for-bristol-palins-one-weird-bible-investing-nutrition-trick#idc-cover
One of the comments:
DeleteIs a ghostwriter for a Palin the equivalent of a word salad shooter?
ROFL
another:
Delete"God has given me so much!"
Translation: He put too many calories into butter and sugar..,,
Thanks for the link, the comments show EVERYONE'S onto her, except for a few living vibrantly until the batteries die.
The Conservatives are never at a loss for feet to shoot themselves in.
ReplyDeleteHard-core conservatives, and especially extremely religious conservatives have no interest in the truth.
ReplyDeleteThey will not be 'confused' by facts - they already know what they believe.
Run, Piyush, Run ! ! !
ReplyDeletePP should focus on being Gender-Neutral when offering birth control methods. With the advent of microsurgery, reconnecting the vas deferens is very easily done. PP can/should offer "snips" to all males of reproductive age (12 to 70), and then all women would need to worry about is how to make the guys put on condoms. That way the horny toads can screw around all they want without worrying about anything except STDs.
ReplyDeleteI know, I know--I can hear all the guys cringing and crossing their arms over their laps now!!
I know lots of couples that never, ever want to have children and the cheapest and easiest way to avoid that is having the male of the couple snipped. My guy did it at 24 because we knew we had no interest in having children. 4 of his friends did as well. We all travel together and have lots of fun, and have lots of expendable income, primarily because we don't have to think about or support children.
DeletePlanned Parenthood hands out condoms, provides women-specific birth control methods, and also discusses with men, women, and couples all the different options. It seems they cover all the bases.
DeleteI'd contribute to THAT fund. It IS simple and relatively (compared to tubal ligation or a stubbed toe) painless. But how many men have we heard say, "Well next time the wife gets pregnant we'll have her get her tubes tied." As if one has anything AT ALL to do with the other. You've gotta know that those are the ones who "learned sex ed at home where it SHOULD BE taught".
DeleteYou're right. People thought I was nuts to bring my son and two daughters to Planned Parenthood. They also screen males for STD's and prescribe medication, charge a nominal fee based on income. I thought my son may feel embarrassed going to his Primary Doctor, and knowing how Planned Parenthood works, he'd at least KNOW another option.
DeleteThe one near us also offers educational counseling to couples about choosing a method or two for birth control.
Why is it OK that there are more African American babies aborted, than born last year? How is it OK that the primary locations are in minority communities?
ReplyDeleteWhen are they going to do a study on not for profit churches suggesting which pro life candidates congregants should vote for?
ReplyDeletePlanned Parenthood stood the test, lets see the others step up to the plate! Oh wait, that's just WRONG. Unconstitutional too!
Your Tax Dollars at Work!
A little sex education goes a long way and Planned Parenthood teaches "Family Planning", it's much better than the "hump like a rabbit even though you can't support your own kids" method.