Donald Trump Says Planned Parenthood Will Keep Its Funding If They Stop Performing Abortions

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Donald Trump is willing to preserve federal funds to Planned Parenthood, on the condition that it stops providing abortions. The New York Times reports that the Trump administration, concerned about political blowback from defunding Planned Parenthood, is considering this horrifying offer as a kind of compromise, though the proposal has not been made formally.

Planned Parenthood currently receives about $500 million in federal funding each year, but that money goes towards women's health services, not abortion services. The organization has made it clear that it has no interest in such a deal.

"Let's be clear, federal funds already do not pay for abortions," Dawn Laguens, the executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told the Times. "Offering money to Planned Parenthood to abandon our patients and our values is not a deal that we will ever accept. Providing critical health care services for millions of American women is nonnegotiable."

Trump confirmed discussions about the proposal in a statement. "As I said throughout the campaign, I am pro-life and I am deeply committed to investing in women's health and plan to significantly increase federal funding in support of non-abortion services such as cancer screenings," he said. "Polling shows the majority of Americans oppose public funding for abortion, even those who identify as pro-choice. There is an opportunity for organizations to continue the important work they do in support of women's health, while not providing abortion services."

So there's that.

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Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.