"It is an outrage that a federally funded employment-training program is being exploited by Planned Parenthood to promote its agenda," said Ed Szymkowiak, national director of American Life League's STOPP International. "It is quite clear that employee training programs that teach about condoms or sometimes early-abortion-causing birth control drugs and devices have nothing to do with improving a person's employability or workplace skills. Instead, these programs are being exploited by Planned Parenthood to advance its lucrative pill-pushing mission."
Under the Freedom of Information Law, STOPP obtained documents from the Social Services Department in Delaware County, New York, that show that Planned Parenthood has given several presentations to the regional Better Employment, Services and Training program (BEST). These documents indicate that BEST received nearly a half a million dollars since 2000 from the New York Works Block Grant program. The New York State Department of Labor confirms that these grants come from the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. TANF is a $16.5 billion a year block grant to the states, according to TANF's 2003 report to Congress.
"This is not the first time STOPP has exposed Planned Parenthood's exploitation of federal TANF dollars," said Szymkowiak. In late 2002, STOPP uncovered a Planned Parenthood scheme to pay teens with such dollars to recruit new Planned Parenthood customers. "One is only left to wonder how many other ways Planned Parenthood has figured out to exploit TANF."
"People across the country need to contact the President and Congress to demand that the TANF program be amended so that none of its tax payer money may be allotted for birth control programs, or be allocated to any program that involves abortion providers and promoters such as Planned Parenthood," said Szymkowiak. "A program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families should not promote in any way Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion chain."
Release issued: 13 Jul 04
