Opposing tax funds for Planned Parenthood
PP simply has no need for this money from city government. This is about seeking a political endorsement, not a legitimate need.
Note: This is the text of the speech I delivered at the June 12, 2024 city council meeting.
Councilors,
I have lobbying you for 25 years in opposition to funding for Planned Parenthood. I am now twice as old as I was the first time I sent a letter to the city council opposing this funding.
Before I address specifics, I want to address a broader picture. PP, which merged with other branches in multiple states, admits in its application that it has taken in $74 million this fiscal year. That multi-state PP is, of course, part of a multinational corporation that has consistently brought in over one billion dollars annually. PP simply has no need for this money from city government, as there is plenty of money floating around the PP organization to pay for the programs in Bloomington.
Local government could and should instead donate to truly local charities who could actually benefit from the limited dollars available to local government. For Planned Parenthood to seek a grant from city government would be like Donald Trump asking me to give him a personal gift.
Planned Parenthood, while they no longer terminate unborn babies at their South College facility, does shunt women to neighboring states to have their babies killed. While the Hopkins grant does not directly contribute to this abomination, it is nonetheless offensive to many taxpayers to be subsidizing an organization that proudly facilitates the extermination of innocent human lives that are at the most vulnerable state of life.
Finally, I object to the use of tax money for "gender-affirming" hormones. In Genesis 1:27, Scripture tells us that God created male and female, and both are made in His image. The modern transgender cult defaces the image of God with needless medically-unnecessary surgeries and artificial hormones that disrupt the body's natural hormonal balance. What gender-confused people need is not government financing their delusion, but loving care to help them accept their bodies. Sadly, the mega corporations that make up Big Pharma are making money from this, so it will continue. There is no reason for the city council to fund this with local tax dollars.
No doubt people will threaten us with suicides in response to opposing this funding. It is actually a common tactic for abusers to threaten self-murder in order to keep the abused partner in line or to prevent her from leaving. I do not accept this gaslighting, nor should the elected city leaders. Again, the proper response is compassionate care to confirm the sex (not gender) that a gender-confused person's body shows.
Please vote this down, and come back with a funding package that does not include yet another grant to subsidize a billion dollar multinational corporation that kills innocent babies and preys on vulnerable gender-confused people. Thank you.