Funding Planned Parenthood has always been a farce
The city council feels no need to be accountable in how they spend our money.
As expected, Planned Parenthood was granted $7,500 on June 15 to pay for contraceptives, while All Options got several thousand dollars to pay for medical supplies for women. This is not surprising, but it is obvious that the city council has no interest in honestly justifying the handouts or responding to objections from the general public for how they spend our property tax dollars.
Susan Sandberg claimed that the Hopkins grant package "checks off all the criteria points for the Jack Hopkins and we're very proud to put that forward for council's consideration this evening." That is false. Planned Parenthood has come to the city council year after year for 23 years for various grants. All Options has also come back for a handout year after year for several years, often for the same request. This does not meet the published guideline that funds should be for a one time expense. If the council feels that these funds justify overriding the guidelines, then make that case. Pretending it does follow the guidelines insults the intelligence of the taxpayers.
Sue Sgambelluri said she is satisfied that Hopkins funds do not go to abortion services. Again, that is not the point. The objection of pro-life citizens for 23 years is that we do not want to fund an organization that performs abortions. This year, that justification is not factually true. It is well-established that the chemical forms of "birth control" funded by this grant prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. The brand new life is then killed before it has a chance to grow and develop. It is unfortunate that no one on the council addressed this, even though they know it is an issue.
The city council did not address or even acknowledge that Planned Parenthood flies in a doctor from Hawaii to perform abortions in Bloomington, despite the fact that this was brought to their attention during public comment. If they have the money to do this, do they really need a grant from the city council?
It is obvious that these grants are not for the community's needs. If these projects are needed, the city council could easily partner with the county health department and the township trustees to assist low-income women without the need to fund an organization that butchers over one thousand unborn babies every year on South College. Obviously, abortifacient birth control should not be funded at all. This is a political endorsement of a pro-abortion political agenda, and is an abuse of the council's authority.