Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Democrat, on Sunday credited Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, with reducing the number of U.S. abortions.
The U.S. abortion rate has dropped steadily since peaking in 1981, falling to its lowest level in 2014 since the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision, a decline attributed to factors such as widespread birth control, state legislation curtailing access and shifting public sentiment.
Ms. Klobuchar attributed the trend to birth control provided by Planned Parenthood affiliates and blasted President Trump for his ongoing efforts to defund the organization.
“We have reduced the number of abortions by funding Planned Parenthood, and we have a president that I want to replace who doesn’t even support funding Planned Parenthood, where one out of five women some time in their lifetime go to get their health care,” she told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Planned Parenthood receives more than a half-billion dollars each year from the federal government through health-service reimbursements and grants.
“For me, the goal is this: we have choice in our country, but that we also make sure that we have reduced the number of abortions, which we’ve been doing,” Ms. Klobuchar said. “Why? Because we have contraception available, because we funded Planned Parenthood.”
Ms. Klobuchar’s comments came in reaction to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden’s reversal last week of his support for the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for most abortions.
“I didn’t agree with Joe Biden’s position. I’m glad he changed it. It has long been my position,” she said.
At a Fox News town hall in May, Ms. Klobuchar said that Planned Parenthood’s service includes mammograms, an oft-debunked misconception. Planned Parenthood offers breast exams and mammography referrals but does not perform mammograms.
In fiscal year 2016-17, Planned Parenthood reported an uptick in abortions, performing 332,757, the most since 2011-12, even as clinics closed and patient visits and services, including birth control, declined amid competition from community health clinics.
“Women are turning away from abortion giant Planned Parenthood,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, in a 2017 statement. “It’s time to re-direct Planned Parenthood’s funding to community health centers.”
The results of a Marist Poll released Friday found most of those surveyed want abortion to remain legal, but a majority also support some sort of restrictions, such as limiting the procedure to the first trimester.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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