Planned Parenthood Donors Dropping Out Over Organization’s ‘Mission Creep’, by Carole Novielli 

As Planned Parenthood fights to maintain access to taxpayer dollars, some of its donors are upset about the organization’s “mission creep,” Planned Parenthood’s deliberate departure from the reasons those donors began supporting the organization in the first place.

Key Takeaways:

• A recent article from the Wall Street Journal caused a stir among Planned Parenthood supporters, revealing that the organization’s “mission creep” is disappointing its donors.

• This “mission creep” isn’t new; it’s been happening since the 1960s, when the organization began to move toward abortion, away from a primary emphasis on birth control.

• The adoption of gender ideology and a move toward providing “gender affirming care” has upset donors who believe Planned Parenthood has abandoned women.

The Context:

Planned Parenthood only serves an estimated 2% of American women of reproductive age, and the organization’s services, clients, and donors have plummeted over the years while abortions soared to record highs.

Its latest report revealed over 400,000 abortions in a single year, while receiving nearly $800M from taxpayers. Planned Parenthood (PP) is responsible for over 7.5M abortions since 2000, and has seen a 291% increase in taxpayer funding (nearly $203M v $792M) since that time.

The Big Picture:

Planned Parenthood’s “mission creep” isn’t new. It has strategically strayed from its original mission for decades. Here’s a list of its varied “missions” over the years:

➡️ Contraception and Sterilization (1942) – founded by Margaret Sanger, a proponent of eugenics and population control.

➡️ Abortions and Abortion Referrals (1962-1970) – began moving away from birth control, referring for and committing abortions, thanks to its president, eugenicist leader Alan F. Guttmacher, who took office in 1962. In 1970, it opened its first abortion facility.

➡️ Abortion under Medicaid (1978) – elected Faye Wattleton, its first Black female president, who promised to be more aggressive on ‘abortion rights’ and vowed to restore abortion access “to the poor” under Medicaid. She grew PP’s budget from $90 million (1978) to $384 million (1990).

➡️ Radical Promotion of Abortion (1990s) – leadership became cult-like in promoting abortion, rejecting president Pamela J. Maraldo’s “reinvention plan” to focus on “health care.”

➡️ Increasing Abortions and Political Power (2008) – President Cecile Richards’ goal was to make Planned Parenthood into “the largest kick-butt political organization.” Under her tenure, political support and abortions increased.

➡️ Advocating for Actual Healthcare (2019) – selected Dr. Leana Wen as president, but she was later ousted when attempting to move away from abortion advocacy toward providing legitimate health care. Her critics called this “mission creep.”

 ❓Varied Political Activism (TODAY) – the organization has “political activist” Alexis McGill-Johnson at the helm, where in the words of the Wall Street Journal, “a different kind of mission creep set in.”