Despite pandemic, abortions performed by Planned Parenthood continued increasing during 2020 fiscal year

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Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) performed roughly 10,000 more abortions in Fiscal Year 2020, reaching a record high despite the restrictions imposed by politicians during the coronavirus pandemic.

According to its most recent annual report, the abortion giant was responsible for 354,871 abortions for the fiscal year, which ended September 30. That number was the highest recorded since the year 2000, according to tracking by the pro-life group Live Action, and represented a nearly 3% increase from the 345,672 reported for the previous fiscal year.

Since 2000, the group has reportedly performed more than 5.6 million abortions and is generally considered the nation’s largest provider. For the past several years, it has performed the procedure more than 300,000 times annually.

Panned Parenthood’s services also include various forms of contraception.

During government shutdowns, Planned Parenthood and others insisted that abortions were “essential” services that should be permitted while states prohibited other elective procedures in order to preserve personal protective equipment.

“This year tested our promise to Planned Parenthood patients: that we would be here for them, no matter what,” the abortion provider said. “Through the COVID-19 pandemic, attacks on access to abortion, and the gag rule that blocked access to care for Title X patients — we kept our promise.”

The report touts the group’s ability to reach women despite state restrictions by utilizing its abortion service locator. Since its September 2019 launch, the locator tool has received 767,000 visits.

Besides lockdowns, state legislatures and courts continued to weigh pro-life restrictions which have encountered concerted backlash from the abortion provider.

“PPFA and Planned Parenthood affiliates have approximately three dozen open cases challenging laws, policies, or government actions that restrict access to sexual and reproductive health,” the group reported.

And despite efforts to defund the group, PPFA received an increase from $616.8 million to $618.1 million in government funding. According to Live Action’s tracking, which dates back to the year 2000, that could be the largest sum in PPFA’s history. Their most recent figures represent a 205% increase from the $202.7 million recorded for 2000.

The organization briefly lost millions of dollars in federal funding after the Trump administration conditioned Title X grants on whether recipients used abortion as a method of family planning. Totaling $33.6 million, the money was redirected towards health departments and clinics across a long list of states as part of the previous administration’s effort to close the gaps in patient resources after organizations lost their funding. 

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