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A recent article in the National Review asserts that

Planned Parenthood has long been imposing abortion quotas on its clinics nationwide, incentivizing its workers to convince women to terminate their pregnancies

This assertion seems to be based on an interview from a single former Planned Parenthood manager and nurse.

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/444685/planned-parenthood-abortion-quotas-exposed-live-action-video?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=desanctis

DQdlM
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  • Catholic News Agency is also reporting a similar story: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/did-a-planned-parenthood-throw-pizza-parties-if-abortion-quotas-were-met-53264/ – shiningcartoonist Feb 08 '17 at 18:59
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    To what end? That's always the question with these strange claims. Why would they ask their clinics to push one service over another when they get paid either way? –  Feb 08 '17 at 19:18
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    @fredsbend Do they get paid _more_ for one service over another? – Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard Feb 08 '17 at 20:26
  • Also what *incentivizing* means in this context? – Salvador Dali Feb 08 '17 at 20:43
  • @iam Typically, *margins* are the same per hour of service spent in such businesses. It's a possibility that abortions have higher margins, but I doubt it. –  Feb 08 '17 at 21:11
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    @SalvadorDali The video claims that abortion quotas were tracked, and that workers who were meeting their quotas were given pizza parties, payed time off, and lunch with upper management. The only sources for the claim seem to be Sue Thayer - a born-again anti-abortion activist - and Marianne Anderson who claims she was a nurse at Planned Parenthood. – tim Feb 08 '17 at 21:13
  • The question was unanswerable here because it was about motivation. I changed it to something disprovable, and coherent with the claim provided. – Sklivvz Feb 09 '17 at 00:37
  • @Sklivvz I am not sure I fully understand your concern. The attached article makes it pretty clear that the claim is that PP used incentives to get their workers to encourage women to get abortions. If true, this seems more concerning than the mere existence of the quotas and is a key component of the attack. I modified the title to reflect this. It is less concise now but hopefully clarifies the question. – DQdlM Feb 09 '17 at 12:42
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    @fredsbend The motivation is likely to be construed as more about eugenics than money, although proponents of that view would also need to show that there were incentives for sterilization procedures as well to convince me. If sterilization or other forms of birth control were not promoted, then it would probably be about money and getting more supporters/clients. – ColleenV Feb 09 '17 at 15:25
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    @tim are you denying that Sue Thayer was an actual Planned Parenthood manager? She worked for Planned Parenthood from 1991-2008 and only quit when they started doing abortions without a doctor being physically present. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/31/planned-parenthoods-big-lie/ She is personally confessing now about what she did and ordered people to do http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/7/ex-employee-planned-parenthood-has-abortion-quotas/ – DavePhD Feb 09 '17 at 15:58
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    @DavePhD No, I'm not denying that. She is however an unreliable source. For a claim that is this absurd, I would expect at least some sort of proof (pictures of the tracking software, other witnesses (I mean, there should at least be some women who went to PP and be upset by this, right?), etc). And while the claim about abortions without a doctor may technically be true, it is incredibly misleading, as it is about giving out pills. – tim Feb 09 '17 at 17:29
  • You have quotes from Planned Parenthood representatives saying these things. Assuming these really are reps from PP and what they're saying is their testimony, what further evidence would convince you? – LCIII Feb 09 '17 at 17:32
  • Do you mean individual offices or the entire organization? It seems to be a quite different question to ask "did they ever do X?" than "does the organization have a policy of Y?". – rougon Feb 09 '17 at 19:37
  • @rougon that is a good question. I think I would be willing to accept either just more fully documented. I asked the question to try to put these claims in context. I am skeptical that PP has this as an official policy (hence posting here) but the claim makes it sound like it comes from somewhat high up and is more than just a few overzealous workers (incentives based on time off etc...). But in either case it would be good to know. – DQdlM Feb 09 '17 at 19:48
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    @LCIII I am not sure is your question was addressed to me or to other commenters but if it for me, I would like to see evidence of this practice that isn't coming from former workers turned anti-abortion activists. Some independent verification of these claims. – DQdlM Feb 09 '17 at 19:50

2 Answers2

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Planned Parenthood does not agree that "quota" is the correct word to use.

enter image description here

In July 2014 Planned Parenthood acknowledged that the above image is genuine, but stated it does not represent a "quota", but instead:

The entire basis of their claim was a photo of a certificate that Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains gave to a health center for increasing its abortion services ...yes, we absolutely do celebrate our progress in ensuring that more people have access to the full range of reproductive health care, including abortion. And we always will.

(Image source)

DavePhD
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    Do you have a source that they acknowledged the image as genuine? The linked article does not seem to mention it. I'm asking b/c the article that you linked as the image source is clearly biased and would like to find more detailed information. – rougon Feb 10 '17 at 15:59
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    @rougon former Planned Parenthood employees publicized the photograph of the award on 30 June 2014 http://archive.aweber.com/exposingthelie/CbO0f/h/You_HAVE_to_See_This_.htm and Planned Parenthood responded with the damage control statement 3 July 2014, saying it's not a quota, it's a celebration. – DavePhD Feb 10 '17 at 16:13
  • Do you have a source that is not clearly anti-Planned Parenthood? Or a source for their response? – rougon Feb 10 '17 at 16:18
  • @rougon I linked to an official Planned Parenthood website. You see Planned Parenthood letterhead, with a signature. – DavePhD Feb 10 '17 at 16:47
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    Yes, but that article does not have the image or discuss the letter. The letter itself has letterhead, but that's not exactly hard to make. I'm just trying to find independent corroboration of the main piece of evidence in your answer, as well as your claim that they acknowledged that the image is genuine. So far, the only sources you have cited are anti-abortion groups. – rougon Feb 10 '17 at 16:51
  • @rougon On 2 July 2014 Catholic news said the award was "sickening" and "appalling" http://www.catholic.org/news/national/story.php?id=56050 and the 3 July 2014 Planned Parenthood response specifically quotes the words "sickening" and "appalling", making overwhelmingly clear that this is what is being responded to. – DavePhD Feb 10 '17 at 16:59
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    I don't mean to pester, but you still have not shown independent evidence of this letter or PP's response. You seem to have the PP source responding to the letter, so why not post it to support your claim in the answer? – rougon Feb 10 '17 at 17:03
  • Was your other answer deleted? I think it was useful and on way to being a good answer. –  Feb 10 '17 at 18:42
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    @rougon Planned Parenthood explicitly acknowledges "a photo of a certificate that Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains gave to a health center for increasing its abortion services " and admits "yes, we absolutely do celebrate our progress in ensuring that more people have access to the full range of reproductive health care, including abortion. And we always will." https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/blog/setting-record-straight-planned-parenthood-expanding-access-care – DavePhD Feb 14 '17 at 17:21
  • Thanks. I didn't see that the PP sentence referenced that particular image, since both the letter and the PP blog post are fairly short on details. – rougon Feb 14 '17 at 18:52
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    @DavePhD - the complication is, it isn't clear that the image provided specifically links to the PP response, as the wording "exceeding abortion visits" is different from "increasing abortion services". As I see it, there's three possibilities - either the popularly viewed image (as seen in your answer) is doctored, PP are spinning the meaning, or people are misinterpreting the meaning (if you read "abortion visits" as "people coming to PP to discuss the issue" rather than "people coming to PP and having an abortion", it totally changes the meaning). – Glen O Feb 15 '17 at 07:24
  • @GlenO It is clear from the timing because 2 July 2014 Catholic news called the award "sickening" and "appalling" http://www.catholic.org/news/national/story.php?id=56050 and the very next day 3 July 2014 Planned Parenthood released the statement specifically referring to the words "sickening" and "appalling". – DavePhD Feb 15 '17 at 13:18
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http://www.snopes.com/planned-parenthood-abortion-quotas/

It looks like Snopes did some digging and couldn't find any evidence they consider reliable. After reading the arguments, I have to agree with Snopes. The evidence for quotas is dependent entirely on the word of the accusers. Planned parenthood is a commonly used bogeyman for right wing groups. This accusation seems like the kind of thing people vehemently opposed to abortion might make up.

In the Snopes article, Planned Parenthood denies quotas. "We contacted Planned Parenthood about the claims, and a spokesperson reiterated that Planned Parenthood maintains no “quotas” for abortions or any of the other services they provide. Another longtime employee of Planned Parenthood whom we spoke had never heard of abortion quotas throughout the duration of her tenure with the organization."

BobTheAverage
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  • Snopes didn't do a thorough job. They ignored witnesses such as Abby Johnson, former director of the Bryant, Texas Planned Parenthood clinic. She was strongly pro-abortion and had two abortions herself. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/secret-planned-parenthood-budget-asked-for-1135-abortions-a-year-at-313.29 She said her quota was 1,135 abortions per year. – DavePhD Feb 15 '17 at 14:22
  • @DavePhd, that site is published by a pro-life lobby group. All of its sources are self-links, or links to fellow travellers. – rob Feb 16 '17 at 00:53
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    @rob ABCnews verifies that Abby Johnson was a real Planned Parent clinic director. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/planned-parenthood-clinic-director-joins-anti-abortion-group/story?id=8999720 Snopes tries to discredit the other witnesses by saying they were never truly pro-abortion, but they can't say that about Johnson, so they just ignore her. – DavePhD Feb 16 '17 at 15:37
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    When listening to the abortion debate, take everything with a grain of salt. Some people on both sides believe the stakes are extremely high, and some of them believe that the ends justify the means. When reading abortion debates, set your standards for evidence high. I don't believe either side has meet that standard. – BobTheAverage Feb 16 '17 at 17:29