Pop quiz: What billion-dollar multinational receives hundreds of millions in tax dollars even though it is enormously profitable?
If your thoughts turned to defense contractors, you would be right about the purpose - killing - but wrong about the recipient. The answer, in fact, is Planned Parenthood.
According to its most recent annual report, in fiscal 2008, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the nation's largest abortion provider, had annual revenue of more than $1 billion. Of this, about 34 percent was made up of government grants.
In other words, almost $350 million of American taxpayer dollars supported the work of Planned Parenthood from October 2007 to September 2008. And, according to tax records from the same time period, this 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization had a net income $85 million greater than its expenses. That looks suspiciously like a profit, though a bit lower than the previous year's profit of roughly $115 million.
It's worth noting that these numbers are from a year in which George W. Bush, a pro-life advocate, held the office of president of the United States. We have yet to see how Planned Parenthood's budget has increased under the Obama administration.
In July 2008, Planned Parenthood's Political Action Fund officially endorsed Barak Obama, marking only the second time in history that the organization officially supported a presidential candidate. One wonders what Planned Parenthood is hoping to gain from the Obama administration, considering the hundreds of millions it obtained during a pro-life Republican administration.
By far the most staggering number listed in Planned Parenthood's annual report isn't about money (at least not to pro-life Americans, who make up a slim majority). The report notes that the number of abortions that occurred during fiscal 2008 was a whopping 305,000. If we include emergency contraception kits, that number could rise to more than 1.4 million.
These numbers are particularly significant as Friday marked the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade, in which the court took away from the states the right to restrict abortion and made it a federal "right."
Since that decision, almost 50 million children have been aborted in the United States. Of those, Planned Parenthood can boast a significant percentage. And as an often secretive and cash-based business, Planned Parenthood has profited handsomely. This begs the question: Why is taxpayer money bailing out the abortion industry?
If you look at Planned Parenthood's Web site, you will read that it delivers "reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of women, men, and young people worldwide." You also will see that one of the major goals of the organization is to protect abortion access. It has 90 affiliate offices within the United States that operate 850 "health centers."
Abortion advocates often argue that the tax money Planned Parenthood absorbs goes to its educational programs and not to abortions per se. However, as any business knows, money coming in the door becomes part of an operating budget. Tax money designated for "education" on a balance sheet only means that monies from abortions are freed up for other uses.
What you will not find on Planned Parenthood's Web site is that the founder, Margaret Sanger, was a strong advocate of eugenics, a theory of "selective breeding," and advocated "survival of the fittest" ideals. Her understanding of those most "fit" did not include blacks.
Sanger led something called the Negro Project, which in essence was an attempt to manipulate blacks into their own demise. In her own words, "We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population." Sadly, today, black mothers are three times as likely to abort as white mothers, and the great majority of abortion clinics are in - you guessed it - minority neighborhoods.
Also missing from Planned Parenthood's Web site is the number of lawsuits currently charging the organization with such crimes as not reporting statutory rape and other abuse.
Lila Rose, a young woman studying at the University of California at Los Angeles, has conducted "undercover investigations" at a number of Planned Parenthood locations, resulting in some of the lawsuits. On two occasions, she posed as a 15-year-old pregnant by a 23-year-old boyfriend. Neither clinic reported this information, and in fact, according to the lawsuit, one counselor gave Miss Rose tips about lying about her age so the clinic would not need to report the statutory rape.
The enterprise of abortion in America is big business. It turns a profit, and for the American taxpayer, the bailout of a financial behemoth - one engaged in an activity most Americans find troubling - is obviously unnecessary.
Even without pondering such moral questions as "When does life begin?" and "What is happening in a woman's body that abortion stops?" the fact that this billion-dollar industry needs no tax support should be enough to stop taxpayer handouts.
Little children, born and unborn, deserve the best health care available. Prenatal care is essential to the health and well-being of mothers and their womb-protected babies. If we're going to spend taxpayer dollars on medical services, let's spend it on them.
Jeanne Monahan is director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council.