Government Report Confirms Nearly a Billion Tax Dollars Funding Abortion

6-17-10
by Catherine Snow, managing editor, Citizenlink.org
Most Americans object to tax dollars going to abortion groups

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a groundbreaking report Wednesday, quantifying the level of federal funds dispersed over a seven-year period (2002-2009) to six pro-abortion abortion organizations and their affiliates.

According to the audit, Advocates for Health, the Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), Population Council and Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SEICUS) reported spending an estimated $967 million in federal taxpayer funds.

The GAO audit, requested by 31 Republican lawmakers, points out that the nearly $1 billion estimate "may understate the actual amount of federal funds the selected organizations and their affiliates spent."

In other words, the report may only scratch the surface, in terms of tracking federal funds used to perform abortion, as well as expand the presence and influence of abortion providers here and abroad.

This staggering estimate would likely be higher, were it not for pro-life legislation, such as the Hyde and Helms amendments, prohibiting HHS and USAID, respectively, from funding of abortion, as well as the Mexico City Policy, recently overturned by president Obama on his first day in office.

In spite of pro-life regulations, HHS and USAID are, by far, the largest purveyors of tax dollars allocated to the abortion industry, especially for domestic Title X "family planning" programs.

As such, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., introduced the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act (HR 614) on Wednesday, which prohibits the distribution of Title X money to entities that use abortion as a method of family planning.

"Whether or not you accept that ending an unborn human life is morally wrong, said Pence," the overwhelming majority of Americans accept that taking the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and using it to subsidize the largest abortion provider in America is just wrong."

The bi-partisan bill has 93 co-sponsors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
The complete audit is available on the GAO website.

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