Thirty-seven affiliates of the country’s largest abortion organization unlawfully applied for and received a total of $80 million in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program.
The CARES Act clearly stated that only nonprofits with 500 employees or less were eligible. Even though Planned Parenthood has been considered “essential” in many states and continued its abortion operation, these affiliates, which have fewer than 500 employees, are part of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PFFA) which has over 16,000 employees nationwide.
During its 2018-2019 fiscal year, Planned Parenthood killed a record number 345,672 unborn babies via abortion, an increase of 13,000 over the previous year, and brought in more than $1.6 billion in revenue according to its latest annual report.
Thirty-four senators and 94 members of Congress sent a letter to the Small Business Administration to request a full investigation, warning that criminal prosecution may be appropriate. In the letter they stated, “These circumstances require a full investigation in order to determine whether there was wrongdoing, and we urge that any such misconduct be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Senator Marco Rubio, who has served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship said, “There is no ambiguity in the legislation that passed or public record around its passage that organizations such as Planned Parenthood, whose parent organization has close to half a billion dollars in assets, is not eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program. Those funds must be returned immediately. Furthermore, the SBA should open an investigation into how these loans were made in clear violation of the applicable affiliation rules and if Planned Parenthood, the banks, or staff at the SBA knowingly violated the law all appropriate legal options should be pursued.”
The largest recipient of federal funds was Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino counties of California, which received $7.5 million. The Planned Parenthood affiliate of Metropolitan Washington received $1.3 million and Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida received $2 million.
In 2019, Planned Parenthood refused to comply with President Trump’s Protect Life Rule and officially withdrew from the Title X Family Planning Program. The Trump administration’s rule, which ensures compliance with the statutory prohibition against using federal funds for programs where abortion is a method of family planning, defunded Planned Parenthood by as much as $60 million in Title X funds annually. However, the annual report reveals the group’s total government funding (including federal, state, and local funds) actually increased by $52 million to $616.8 million in 2018-2019. Additionally, seven states–Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Oregon, Washington Massachusetts and Maryland– refused to comply with the new Title X rule and continued to provide tax dollars to Planned Parenthood.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Planned Parenthood does not qualify for these taxpayer funds. Planned Parenthood has unlawfully taken funds from small businesses which desperately need relief. Yet Planned Parenthood has continued to kill innocent children by abortion.”
