Planned Parenthood

A Commentary on its History and Philosophy

By Wendy Wright

Not many organizations achieve the impact that Planned Parenthood (PP) has had on Western culture. At its root, it is an evolutionary philosophy taken to its logical conclusion that man is merely an animal in the process of evolving to his ultimate potential. Largely at public expense, PP promotes the taking of human life while denigrating biblical morality and the sanctity of human life.

In 2005 alone, Planned Parenthood received an incredible $882 million in gross revenue, with $63 million in ‘excess revenue’ (profit). About a third of this gross revenue comes from U.S. taxpayers, and another hefty chunk comes from American corporations and foundations. This international ‘nonprofit’ organization has over 120 affiliates operating more than 850 local health centers across the U.S., plus 78 partner organizations in 29 countries.

PP began as the dream of Margaret Sanger, a pro-eugenic, pro-abortion advocate. Between 1920 and 1922, Sanger launched the American Birth Control League (ABCL), the forerunner of Planned Parenthood. This organization was founded to maintain a so-called ‘fit’ nation and keep society from being filled with, in the words of Sanger, “the most far-reaching peril to the future of civilization” (referring to people of different ethnic groups). The ABCL thus targeted low-income families [and African Americans] as those most in need of birth control.

In 1942 after the Nazi horrors discredited outright eugenics (killing the “unfit” in order to breed a “master race”), the ABCL was renamed Planned Parenthood. At that time the organization’s affiliates made legal access to unrestricted abortion a high priority. As one medical director stated, “You can’t get adequate fertility control with contraception alone. You have got to grapple with sterilization and abortion.”

PP began pressuring governments to limit births through incentives and punishments. It also called China’s brutal one-child campaign a “stunning success.” Government entitlement programs currently pay for much of PP’s lucrative business based, in part, on the idea that it will reduce welfare costs by reducing the number of people.

The organization claims to be a leading protector of a woman’s right to choose, a provider of contraceptives, a champion in the battle against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and a proponent of public education on the subject. But these claims really just divert attention from the foundational goal of limiting the procreation of society’s “unfit.” PP’s promotion of immorality without consequences—which is being taught in educational programs worldwide—actually leads to an increase in STDs, not a decrease. The Bible-based principles of abstinence until marriage and fidelity within marriage are ignored. Planned Parenthood promotes “values-free” education that denigrates morality and parental authority.

The organization also seeks to ensure that pro-life laws are overturned while it insists that the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion (Roe v. Wade) must not be reversed. It also mocks Bible-believing Christians while hiring liberal clergy and establishing alliances with liberal churches.

Creative and courageous people are countering Planned Parenthood through pro-life pregnancy care centers, legislation, and programs that promote abstinence until marriage and fidelity in marriage. Also, tens of thousands of churches and millions of Christians annually honor Sanctity of Life Sunday.

Even so, one of our most powerful tactics to support life is one that Planned Parenthood defies: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) and then to train up the next generation in the “training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4), which would include upholding the authority of the Bible and the sanctity of life.

This commentary first appeared in the Jan.-Mar. 2007 issue of Answers Magazine the quarterly magazine published by Answers In Genesis USA. To subscribe to Answers visit their web site at www.AnswersMagazine.com, www.AnswersInGenesis.org, or call 800-350-3232. Wendy Wright is president of Concerned Women for America (CWA), the nation’s largest public-policy women’s organization. Wendy helps promote legislation and international policies that are beneficial to women and families, and she briefs congressional and administration staff on pro-family issues. For more information on Planned Parenthood, see CWA’s paper (available at www.cwfa.org): The Negro Project: Margaret Sanger’s Eugenic Plan for Black Americans.