A Nov. 11 CNSNews.com article by Penny Starr plays a disingenuous bit of guilt by association. Under the headline “Planned Parenthood Got $349.6 Million in Tax Dollars, Performed 324,008 Abortions, Paid Its President $385,163,” Starr writes:
Planned Parenthood received $349.6 million in tax dollars in the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2008, and it paid its president, Cecile Richards, $385,163, plus another $11,876 in benefits and deferred compensation.
According to a “fact sheet” published by the organization, Planned Parenthood Affiliate Health Centers performed 324,008 abortions in 2008.
Starr never comes right out and says it, but the implication is clear: federal tax money goes toward abortion.
That, of course, is false. The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funds from paying for abortions.
But the point of Starr’s article is not to inform, it is to inflame — by her own admission. Starr concludes her article by noting efforts in Congress to defund Planned Parenthood, and, on her Twitter account, Starr linked to her article with the message, “Let the de-funding begin!”