Group values revenue from abortions

In a Fox News poll in January 2011, people indicated they are generally more pro-life than pro-choice, 50 percent to

42 percent. In a CBS News/New York Times poll in January this year, 60 percent are in favor of either restricting abortion or not permitting abortion at all.

The Iowa House has tried to deny public funding to family planning services that provide abortion care when pregnancy is caused by rape or incest.

Jill June, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood, indicated that Iowa will lose

$1.2 billion in federal funding based on this most recent legislation. Without this funding, Planned Parenthood will no longer be able to provide health services that women need, such as a Pap test, cancer screening, STD testing and breast exams at prices everyone can afford.

In light of this, Planned Parenthood should adopt a new business plan of not providing abortions. This provides $1.2 billion to help keep these critical health services available to women. Very few of their clients would be affected, as June states

that there are very few occasions where rape or incest victims seek an abortion.

However, this is

unlikely to be accepted. According to Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood official, finances were tight during the economic downturn. Directors were instructed to increase the number of abortions per month to boost revenue, which may also explain why Planned Parenthood built and opened a 76,000-square-foot facility in Houston in 2010 that even allows for late term abortions.

Abortion services are serving the bottom line instead of the women they claim to be helping.

Mark Brown

Iowa City