About the Author
ConservaTibbs
Opinion Archives
E-mail Scott
Scott's Links

No corporate welfare for the merchants of death

By Scott Tibbs, September 27, 2010

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:  Planned Parenthood's grant request
Date:Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:47:44 -0400
From:Scott Tibbs <tibbs1973@yahoo.com>
To:vkelson@co.monroe.in.us, whenegar@co.monroe.in.us, jlesh@alumni.indiana.edu, cnewmann@co.monroe.in.us, mhawk@co.monroe.in.us, gmckim@co.monroe.in.us, councilorthomas@gmail.com

Councilors:

When the social services funding committee met on September 23, the audience was informed that the county has budgeted about $95,000 to give to social service agencies but has approximately $250,000 in requests. For this reason, it is extremely irresponsible to give any of that money to Planned Parenthood for their "Recession Rx" program.

First, let's review Planned Parenthood's immense financial wealth. In their most recent financial report, Planned Parenthood and all of its affiliates reported over one billion dollars in annual revenue ($1,038.1 million) while spending $953.1 million. This left PP with a profit of $85,000,000. The national office alone took in $84.7 million and spent $73.6 million, for a total profit of $11.1 million.

So why is Planned Parenthood requesting over 5% of the total funds you have available, when the need is so great in this community? The answer is simple. Planned Parenthood is seeking a political endorsement from county government. The greed they have for a handout from the taxpayers' wallets is utterly contemptible and is a grave show of disrespect for the social services funding process and the other applicants.

The program they are asking you to fund is an exploitative and morally bankrupt program. Consider part of their application to the Bloomington City Council, which partially funded this project over the summer:

Indiana and Monroe County rank very near the top of the Guttmacher Institute’s list of underserved areas of contraceptive services and supplies. In Monroe County, it is estimated that 14,930 women between ages of 13 and 44 are in need of publicly-funded contraceptives.

Why would 13 year old girls be "in need of publicly-funded contraceptives?" It is illegal for anyone to have sex with a 13 year old. Monroe County taxpayers do not need to be funding birth control for underage girls so that their abusers can cover up the abuse. Monroe County taxpayers need to be funding law enforcement efforts to capture and lock up sexual predators.

We should not forget that it was only two years ago that a Bloomington Planned Parenthood employee was caught on tape trying to help what that employee believed to be a 13 year old girl cover up sexual abuse by a 31 year old man. If you fund this program, you are funding the sexual abuse of children and you are unworthy of the trust the voters have placed in you.

There is no reason that the money Planned Parenthood is requesting cannot instead be used by the county Health Department's Futures Family Planning Clinic, to provide health care to people who need it. I urge you to deny this cynical and disrespectful politically-motivated request for corporate welfare by a billion-dollar corporation.

Scott Tibbs
Resident of Monroe County Council District II