Three Executive Councilors just awarded family planning contracts to ten agencies, including three known providers of surgical abortions. More of your money was given to Planned Parenthood, the Equality Center, and the Joan Lovering Center when Republican Russell Prescott joined Democrats Andru Volinsky and Chris Pappas in voting Yes.
Councilor Prescott’s vote is particularly distressing, given his pro-life record when he was in the state Senate. This is the second time on the Council that he has voted to award contracts to abortion providers, however. Clearly and regrettably, he is on board with the fiction that there is somehow a difference between funding abortion directly and giving abortion providers contracts for non-abortion work.
Every state dollar that goes to Planned Parenthood for a non-abortion program like Title X is money that frees up other PP resources to be used for abortions, for non-clinical work, for building rental, equipment, even staffing (since the same worker who makes appointments for family planning services also makes the appointments for abortions).
Cornerstone has held to this fact throughout every contract dispute and budget debate involving abortion providers: anything taxpayers do to keep the lights on at a business that does abortions is a direct contribution to the abortion industry.
We commend Councilors Joe Kenney and David Wheeler, who respected your right as a taxpayer to remain free from giving known abortion providers any of your financial support.
