The Trump administration reportedly made an unofficial offer to Planned Parenthood to preserve federal funding if the controversial women’s organization pledged to stop performing abortions — an offer the group promptly rejected.
President Donald Trump released a statement to The New York Times on Monday, saying he’s both “pro-life” and “deeply committed to investing in women’s health.”
Additionally, Trump said he wants to increase federal funding for cancer screenings and other services that don’t include abortion, with Fox News reporting that the administration purportedly hinted that Planned Parenthood could even see an increase in funding if the organization stopped offering abortions.
Trump’s proposal that Planned Parenthood stop abortion care is what opponents have pushed for decades. https://t.co/dga9YOqkgU #IStandWithPP pic.twitter.com/90rftXOLqJ
— Planned Parenthood (@PPact) March 6, 2017
“Polling shows the majority of Americans oppose public funding for abortion, even those who identify as pro-choice,” Trump said. “There is an opportunity for organizations to continue the important work they do in support of women’s health, while not providing abortion services.”
The Times reported that the proposal wasn’t formally made, but that Planned Parenthood pushed back against the idea of stopping abortions in an effort to continue receiving federal funds. Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, responded by saying that government money isn’t currently used to perform abortions.
“Offering money to Planned Parenthood to abandon our patients and our values is not a deal that we will ever accept,” she said. “Providing critical health care services for millions of American women is nonnegotiable.”
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, mirrored these statements, saying the organization has no plans to allow politicians to interfere with women’s healthcare decisions, according to Fox News.
“(We) will always stand for women’s ability to make decisions about their health and lives, without interference from politicians,” she said.
Some pro-life activists, though, have said making such a deal with Planned Parenthood would have been problematic, anyway. Kristin Hawkins, president of Students for Life, told TheBlaze‘s Kate Scanlon that Trump, though he’s a good deal maker, couldn’t have negotiated with the “scandal-ridden” organization, saying Planned Parenthood’s entire ideology is “built around abortion.”
“This isn’t one issue of many for them, it’s the only issue for them,” she said. “Abortion is their holy crusade.”
(H/T: New York Times)
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