STOPP applauds Missouri action

"It's about time someone in government stood up to Planned Parenthood and told them what American citizens have been telling them for years: Get your hands out of our wallets!" said Jim Sedlak, director of STOPP International.

Sedlak was reacting to news accounts that an attorney for the state of Missouri has requested that Planned Parenthood repay the state the nearly $510,000 it has received for family planning services since July 1, 1998. The state's action was prompted by a recent court ruling, which determined that Missouri has the right to restrict Planned Parenthood from receiving state family planning money.

"In the last 30 years," Sedlak said, "Planned Parenthood has become a major leech on the backs of the American taxpayer. From the time it received its first government money in 1967 (when Planned Parenthood in Corpus Christi, Texas received $7,000), Planned Parenthood has sucked billions from families in this country. Last year it snatched $165 million and used it to spread its anti-child, anti-life and anti- God philosophies."

This is the third year that Missouri has attempted to keep state money from going to Planned Parenthood. Each year, Planned Parenthood has gone to court to force the state to pay. Every year, a judge has ordered the state to pay. This year, however, the lawmakers hired an attorney to appeal the decision and have now won the right to control the money as they see fit.

"We applaud the lawmakers in Missouri," Sedlak concluded, "for their perseverance. We hope their action will embolden more politicians to say no to Planned Parenthood and to fight, in court if necessary, for the right to deny government funds to the organization."