Kevin DeGraaf’s Blog

The righty-tighties are up in arms over Planned Parenthood’s tax-exempt status:

A Minnesota conservative is calling for an end to the tax-exempt status and public financing of the country’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood. According to Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report, the organization received more than $1 billion from revenues — nearly one-third of that figure came from “government grants and contracts.”

“Planned Parenthood brings in over a billion dollars in revenues, pays no taxes, and sits at the end of the year fat and happy with $115 million in the bank and brazenly works to go after affluent women rather than helping out poor women [...]“, said Bachmann.

Bachmann was one of several Republican lawmakers who denounced the abortion provider during a recent one-hour pro-life Special Order on the House floor called by Congressman Chris Smith (R-New Jersey). “We didn’t have one Democrat come to the floor and call on Planned Parenthood to either live up to their non-profit status or renounce that status, be truthful with the American people, and start paying taxes and not be eligible for any more taxpayer subsidies,” she argues. “As a matter of fact, in Houston, Planned Parenthood announced that they will be building a 75,000-square-foot building. How could that be possible — a 75,000-square-foot building?” Bachmann questions.

She states that, as a former tax lawyer, it has become clear to her that Planned Parenthood no longer fits the mold of a 501(c)3 non-profit and should be paying taxes. And Bachmann questions whether Planned Parenthood really uses public funds to help its efforts for “voter identification and community education” on family-planning issues.

To sum up, a Christian conservative is complaining that Planned Parenthood:

• Receives hundreds of millions of dollars in “government grants and contracts”.
• Brings in billions of dollars, pays no taxes, and sits “fat and happy” with cash in the bank.
• Utilizes large buildings.
• Is not held to its 501(c)(3) obligations.
• Is given a free pass by a major political party.
• Should start paying taxes on its donations and property.

Does that remind you of anything? How about, say, Christianity, which:

• Receives billions of dollars in government grants and contracts.
• Brings in billions of dollars, pays no taxes, and sits “fat and happy” with cash in the bank.
• Utilizes large buildings.
• Is not held to its 501(c)(3) obligations.
• Is given a free pass by a major political party.
• Should start paying taxes on its donations and property.

(When a Republican Senator dared to break ranks and investigate the activities of some ludicrously wealthy tax-exempt “ministries”, the Radical Right chose to retaliate instead of comply. How Christian of them.)

I’m willing to have a reasonable discussion about the role that Planned Parenthood should have in our society, especially concerning public funding, but the Radical Right should attend to the plank in its eye before whining gratuitously about specks elsewhere, mmmkay?