Betrayal at the hands of Planned Parenthood

I was momentarily stunned when a member of Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) staff left the room at a recent meeting I was in with them. But when she came back with tissues, my annoyance softened and I understood that Jocelyn’s story had hit a nerve. Jocelyn and myself and three other women were sitting at the table in Boehner’s office, trying to persuade him to stand up to President Obama and the abortion bullies because Planned Parenthood deserves nothing from taxpayers, not one more dime. Jocelyn and the three other women, all of whom have suffered at the hands of Planned Parenthood, wanted to make that clear – and they did.  

When the staffer went to get tissues, Jocelyn was speaking audibly yet softly. She had had an abortion at Planned Parenthood, one that she didn’t want but felt she had no choice. And she admitted that she felt taken advantage of by the organization, that the abortionist never spoke to her before, during, or after the procedure and that Planned Parenthood had told her just to call another doctor if she had any post-abortion medical problems.   

{mosads}But the part that stuck with me was when she quietly told everyone in the room that she had only seen a dentist once in the past 15 years because the whirring sound of the machines were too similar to the vacuum sounds during her abortion. 

Because Jocelyn hasn’t sought dental care in the last 15 years, she showed the two Boehner staff members how one of her teeth is now visibly rotting and causing her pain every moment she is awake. Because of the trauma she suffered at the hands of Planned Parenthood, she has not been able to take care of her basic needs.  

This is not empowering women. This is not helping women. This is not caring for women. This is betraying women. Cecile Richards should be forced to look Jocelyn in the eyes and see the hurt and utter destruction that she and Planned Parenthood have left in their wake.  

Sadly Jocelyn’s story is only the beginning. Nancy also spoke up that day. She had an abortion at the now-closed Washington, DC Planned Parenthood facility. She initially refused to sign the form to give Planned Parenthood consent to “donate” the remains of her baby after the abortion.  

She was told that it would be in her best interest to sign the form and it was the right thing to do, so she could help others. Then when she declined again, she was told that she couldn’t have the abortion unless she signed the form.  

After finally consenting and signing the form, she tried to get it back after her abortion. The Planned Parenthood office workers told her they didn’t know where it was and she couldn’t revoke her consent. 

It wasn’t enough for Planned Parenthood to make money off of Nancy and millions of women exactly like her. It wasn’t enough to take the life of Nancy’s child, and millions of babies before her. Planned Parenthood bullied Nancy into signing over the rights to “donate” the body parts of her aborted child, which, from the undercover videos released over the summer, Planned Parenthood clearly makes a profit from. 

Planned Parenthood is this nation’s largest abortion vendor. They are a billion dollar industry that made over $120 million in net profit last year. They sell abortions and make their profits by betraying women like Nancy and Jocelyn. After they have paid their non-profit staff for-profit salaries and millions to their public relations consultants, they then pour those profits back into their Capitol Hill lobbying and election slush funds to ensure taxpayer dollars continue to flow.

Not only do they trap young women into their create-a-customer business cycle, but they have done so with our elected officials in Washington, D.C.

This week Congress is set to send over $500 million of taxpayer money to Planned Parenthood in their current budget so that the abortion giant can continue to betray women like Jocelyn and Nancy and millions of others they have harmed and lives they have taken.  

Enough is enough. 

It’s time for pro-lifers in Washington, who were elected on the promise of doing all that they could to protect women and children, to stand up to the Planned Parenthood, the abortion bully, and those politicians who profit from their deception of Jocelyn, Nancy, and millions of other women. 

Rip up the check going to Planned Parenthood and redirect our taxpayer funds to the more than 13,000 federally qualified health clinics that actually help women and offer the same and even more services as Planned Parenthood – but without abortion.  

It’s time for leaders in the House and the Senate stand up for women like Jocelyn, who are suffering every day, years after visiting Planned Parenthood.

Hawkins is president of Students for Life of America.