In post-sexual revolution America, there are still heroes and villains—they have just swapped places. Thus, the pro-life hero and “Sweetheart of the Silent Majority” Phyllis Schlafly gets portrayed by Cate Blanchett in blockbuster miniseries as a wicked, conniving racist worthy of nothing but contempt. Cecile Richards, one of America’s top abortion activists and former president of Planned Parenthood, gets the nation’s highest civilian honor. On November 20, President Joe Biden awarded Richards the Congressional Medal of Freedom.
Biden gave Richards, who presided over the brutal destruction of nearly four million pre-born children in abortion clinics for profit over twelve years, the following commendation:
Carrying her parents’ torch for justice, she’s led some of our Nation’s most important civil rights causes – to lift up the dignity of workers, defend and advance women’s reproductive rights and equality, and mobilize Americans to exercise their power to vote. A leader of utmost character, she has carved an inspiring legacy that endures in her incredible family, the countless lives she has made better, and a Nation seeking the light of equality, justice, and freedom.
It is beyond Orwellian to describe a legacy that constitutes dumpster filled with discarded babies in such a fashion, but such is the Democratic Party and, increasingly, the United States as a whole. Not even the spectre of following those millions to the grave has yet given Cecile Richards pause—tragically, she is suffering from brain cancer but has not stopped her relentless abortion advocacy. As The Cutreported in January:
Six months ago, former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards received a diagnosis of glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Following a surgery last year, Richards is in ongoing treatment receiving twice weekly infusions as part of a clinical trial. In between, she is hard at work on Charley, a bot that helps abortion seekers get reliable information. Her days are filled with back-to-back meetings, phone calls and emails. In addition, she continues to be a leading advocate for all people to have access to the healthcare they need nationwide. ‘I am sleeping. I’m eating. I’m having fun. I’m working…Because six months ago, I didn’t know that this was possible.’
My fear, which I have detailed many times in this space, is that the GOP is moving in the pro-choice direction, as well. How many GOP legislators would be willing to condemn Biden’s decision to award Richards with this prestigious honor, which not only celebrates abortion but devalues the award for all others who have received it?
There is a silver lining that bears mentioning here. During the last election cycle, Planned Parenthood spent $40 million trying to elect pro-abortion Democrats. In the last reported year, Planned Parenthood received $670 million in federal funding—that is, in taxpayer dollars. Planned Parenthood will insist that these funds were separate, and that they are not using federal funds to campaign against their political opponents. But cash, as we know, is fungible. If they had less taxpayer money, they would have less money to campaign for Democrats. The consistent failure of the GOP to defund the nation’s largest abortion chain, which is a political actor to boot, has been incredibly frustrating.
But the new Department of Government Efficiency—featuring the trollish acronym “DOGE” and run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy—may finally change all of that. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, the two Trump appointees specifically cite the federal funds given to Planned Parenthood as one area they wish to cut: “DOGE will help end federal overspending by taking aim at the $500 billion plus in annual federal expenditures that are unauthorized by Congress or being used in ways that Congress never intended, from $535 million a year to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and $1.5 billion for grants for international organizations to nearly $300 million to progressive groups like Planned Parenthood.”
This would be an incredible pro-life victory, even if the rationale behind it was fiscal rather than moral. Planned Parenthood is a key player in state-level abortion referendums and political campaigns, and to deny them federal funding would be a genuine blow that would set the organization back significantly. In the meantime, we should pray for the destruction of Planned Parenthood—and the conversion of Cecile Richards.
