Two pro-life organizations are sponsoring a rally on Friday in New Hampshire in support of a decision by the Executive Council there to revoke a $1.8 million taxpayer-funded contract with the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
The 3-2 decision by the committee has rankled abortion advocates and Planned Parenthood has launched a statewide campaign complaining about the vote and urging state residents to lobby members of the Executive Council to reconsider the decision. But the Susan B. Anthony List and the conservative activist group Cornerstone Action of New Hampshire will hold a rally Friday morning to show support for the recent Executive Council vote to strip public dollars from Planned Parenthood of Northern New Hampshire.
Speakers at the event will include former U.S. House of Representatives member and SBA List Project Director Marilyn Musgrave as well as Legislative Director for Cornerstone Action of New Hampshire, Ellen Kolb, and Catherine Adair, a former Planned Parenthood employee turned pro-life activist. The rally takes place at the Legislative Office Building Lobby on 33 North State Street in Concord at 10:00 a.m.
“I am excited to tell you that this Friday, I’m headed up to New Hampshire to help lead a rally in support of the heroic Executive Council members who voted to defund Planned Parenthood of $1.8 million dollars in taxpayer funding,” Musgrave said. “These Council members are under heavy fire from Planned Parenthood of New England. They’ve launched a massive grassroots campaign to overwhelm the Executive Council with hostile e-mails and phone calls. They’re also running aggressive paid media attacks in an effort to get their taxpayer dollars back.”
“We must vigorously support the Executive Council for doing what’s right and defunding Planned Parenthood of $1.8 million,” she said, adding that the SBA List hopes to “run a full-scale grassroots lobbying and paid media campaign in New Hampshire to support the Executive Council’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood.”
“Planned Parenthood is coming under fire across the country—and now they’re fighting back tooth and nail—both on the ground and in the courts. They’ve already sued three states (Indiana, Kansas and North Carolina) and are threatening to file suit in New Hampshire,” Musgrave said. “The Executive Council must stay strong and they need our back-up now. You see, these battles in the states are an extension of the time and money we put in toward defunding Planned Parenthood at the federal level, and the hard work of local pro-life leaders who have been trying to defund Planned Parenthood for years. Make no doubt about it: this is a David versus Goliath fight.”
The Executive Council voided the contract with Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) with Councilor Dan St. Hilaire of Concord casting a vote against the contract along with David Wheeler of Nashua and Raymond J. Wieczorek of Manchester. The Union Leader indicated Raymond S. Burton of Bath and Chris Sununu of Newfields supported funding the abortion business.
While the council approved contracts for legitimate medical centers and organizations, St. Hilaire told the newspaper that Planned Parenthood does abortions and its CEO earns in excess of $250,000 a year. St. Hilaire also cited the fact that most of the services and administration are located outside New Hampshire, in Vermont.
Commenting on the rejection of the contract, Kevin Smith, the director of the pro-life group Cornerstone Action, said he applauds “a majority of the Executive Council for scrutinizing every penny of tax-payer dollars by rejecting the contract for Planned Parenthood.”
“The taxpayers have made it very clear that they do not want one cent going towards the funding of abortions, either directly or indirectly,” Smith said. “Not to mention, it is obscene how much of PPNNE’s current revenue of $18 million is earmarked for things like overhead costs, salaries, marketing, and public policy advocacy. New Hampshire women deserve better than a “non-profit” that would deny women health services because they value administrative costs and political power above patient care.”
Smith indicated that the most recent annual report for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England shows that, of its $18 million dollars in revenue, $3,126,841 (or 16.9%) was spent on general and administrative costs, $714,877 (or 3.9%) was spent on policy advocacy spending or lobbying, $597,000 (or 3.2%) was spent on marketing and communications and $568,397 (or 3.1%) was spent on fundraising.
In other states, Indiana approved a law de-funding Planned Parenthood, Texas Gov. Rick Perry followed suit and New Hampshire Planned Parenthood centers may close after the state revoked a $1.8 million grant. Montana Planned Parenthood is also grappling with funding cuts and one county in Tennessee de-funded Planned Parenthood.
North Carolina may see the closing of a Planned Parenthood center following de-funding and Planned Parenthood in Wisconsin is making cuts after the abortion business lose $1 million in taxpayer funding there. Ohio lawmakers also filed a new bill to shift funding from Planned Parenthood to health departments.
ACTION: Contact members of the Executive Council at https://www.nh.gov/council/ and thank them for voting against the Planned Parenthood contract.
