Local government's corporate welfare to Planned Parenthood
Funding for Planned Parenthood has always been a farce, but this year it is more clownish than ever.
On October 28, the Monroe County Council voted to give $3600 to Planned Parenthood for “Bloomington Health Center Operations.” The application for funding is extremely vague. What is included in “health center operations?” Exactly how much money will be spent in which category? The application for city funding this past summer was much more detailed. The lack of transparency in how this $3600 will be used is deeply disturbing.
The six Democrats on the County Council do not care. This is not about what specific areas are funded, but a political endorsement of Planned Parenthood. This was made obvious when the Democrats could have met the “health care” needs of the community by funding the Futures Family Planning Clinic instead of funding Planned Parenthood, but refused to do so year after year. (Futures was closed in 2024.) Unlike Planned Parenthood, the funds spent by Futures, as part of county government, is much more transparent and easy to audit.
A member of the Bloomington City Council stood up at the meeting after I spoke against the grant and claimed the city did not fund “gender-affirming hormones” when they gave Planned Parenthood a grant this past summer. This is false. Planned Parenthood’s funding request included “gender-affirming hormones” and they got the entire $7500 they asked for. Planned Parenthood’s application is available on the Christian Citizens for Life website and a PDF of the funding allocation can be seen on the Bloomington City Government website.
We have a sitting city legislator who either does not know what she voted for and how she is voting to spend tax money, or she is openly lying about what was funded. I suspect it is the former, as there is no benefit to telling a lie that is so easily refuted. Nonetheless, it is deeply disappointing that a city councilor is spreading false information about legislation she supported. That councilor should apologize for misleading the public.
I am thankful to County Council member Marty Hawk, who motioned to split Planned Parenthood from the rest of the grant recipients so she could vote against it while supporting the other grants. Councilor Hawk has been a brave lone voice against this corporate welfare for fifteen years now, and I greatly appreciate her votes. She is also a consistent voice for fiscal restraint and good budgeting, which is very much needed in Monroe County.
As is always the case, the Bloomington Planned Parenthood does not need the money. According to the application they submitted to city government, the local PP is part of a multi-state conglomerate with total revenue of $83,542,602.00. Their total expenses were $83,358,766 for a budget surplus of $183,836.00. But while this multi-state corporation does not need the money they get from county government, there are truly local charities that could be helped by the corporate welfare given to Planned Parenthood. Even beyond the moral issues surrounding PP, giving them a grant is fiscally irresponsible.
Funding for Planned Parenthood has always been a farce, but this year it is more clownish than ever. Between the lack of transparency in county funding and the blatant misinformation from a city legislator, it could not be more clear that local government’s focus in social services funding is not helping people, but making a political statement and shoring up the political support of their base. This is shameful and deeply irresponsible.
