As more states try to strip Planned Parenthood of pregnancy-prevention funds, new studies suggest taxpayers will pay more
Though Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and his supporters were unsuccessful in stripping Planned Parenthood Federation of America of federal funds that go to pregnancy- and disease-prevention services, state legislatures have had more luck in trying to defund Planned Parenthood affiliates. States like Indiana and Kansas recently passed such legislation, and there are measures pending in states such as Connecticut, Texas, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.
But a new report released Thursday by the Guttmacher Institute suggests that these measures will likely increase how much taxpayers spend on unintended pregnancies, which are largely experienced by the uninsured and thus funded on the taxpayer’s dime.
Guttmacher, a social-science research organization widely cited by stakeholders on both sides of the abortion debate, has highlighted studies showing that unintended pregnancies –- the cause of most abortions in this country -– cost American taxpayers roughly $11.1 billion each year.
According to data revealed in these studies, two-thirds of births, or 1 million, each year are publicly funded either through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).