There are GOP congresstards out there telling people that 80% of every dollar raised by Planned Parenthood goes to pay for abortions and that's why they gotta shut down the federal government. Here's a chart, via Sullivan, that you can print out and staple to the foreheads of any friends, relatives, or coworkers who actually believe this shit:
As you can see in the chart atop this post, abortion services account for about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s activities. That’s less than cancer screening and prevention (16 percent), STD testing for both men and women (35 percent), and contraception (also 35 percent). About 80 percent of Planned Parenthood’s users are over age 20, and 75 percent have incomes below 150 percent of the poverty line. Planned Parenthood itself estimates it prevents more than 620,000 unintended pregnancies each year, and 220,000 abortions. It’s also worth noting that federal law already forbids Planned Parenthood from using the funds it receives from the government for abortions.
So though the fight over Planned Parenthood might be about abortion, Planned Parenthood itself isn’t about abortion. It’s primarily about contraception and reproductive health.... The fight also isn’t about cutting spending. The services Planned Parenthood provides save the federal government a lot of money.
