Planned Parenthood myths

In the process of “dispelling myths” about the primary abortion provider in the United States, former Planned Parenthood lobbyist Clare Coleman [“Five myths about Planned Parenthood,” Outlook, April 15] offered some myths of her own.

Ms. Coleman said that the third of the organization’s budget funded by government grants and contracts does not free up money for abortions, but she avoided such issues as fungibility. In truth, government funding helps cover costs for salaries, facilities and abortion overhead. Ms. Coleman also claimed that abortions account for a mere 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s work. However NPR recently made a critical clarification that the 3 percent figure does not mean that 3 percent of clients receive abortions; rather that number would be closer to 10 percent. And a former Planned Parenthood director recently said the 3 percent number is obtained through a process of bundling services to play down those that are abortion-
related.

Finally, Ms. Coleman wrote that defunding Planned Parenthood will not reduce the number of abortions, but she did not mention the fact that for each year government funding increased for Planned Parenthood, the number of abortions provided by the organization also increased. This has been the case every year, while the number of abortions nationwide has declined.

Jeanne Monahan, Washington

The writer is director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity.