Nuggets from Planned Parenthood’s 2013-2014 annual report

The big story this week is the release of Planned Parenthood’s 2013-2014 annual report. Other pro-life news outlets have already hit the high points: compared to the last report, abortions are up, breast care services are down, and taxpayer funding remains incredibly high.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a continuation of the same pattern we’ve seen for several years. Disappointing, but not at all surprising.

So I dug through the report for some more obscure nuggets to share with you. Here are three.

1) Planned Parenthood brags that they have a fraction of the campus support that the pro-life movement has.

We engaged and trained the next generation of leaders. We now have more than 200 college campus groups – a 182 percent increase from three years ago – at universities ranging from Yale to Wellesley to Spelman.

Awww, that’s cute. You want to know how many college campuses have Students for Life groups? 838.* Boom. Demographics are not on PP’s side here.

2) Planned Parenthood is treating Obvious Child like a major victory.

That abortion propaganda movie that you probably already forgot about is one of PP’s highlights of the year. Planned Parenthood calls it a “breakthrough,” “edgy, hip, funny,” and a “widespread critical and commercial success.” The first two statements are obviously subjective; the third is a bald-faced lie. Obvious Child was a flop at the box office.

3) Planned Parenthood claims to have prevented 1,000 more unplanned pregnancies this year than last year… despite a decrease in provision of contraception.

Here are the numbers given last year:

Reversible Contraception Patients, Women: 2,129,855
Emergency Contraception Kits: 1,590,133
Female Sterilization Procedures: 821
Vasectomy Patients: 3,749
Total Contraceptive Services: 3,724,558
“515,000 unintended pregnancies prevented by these birth control services.”

Versus this year:

Reversible Contraception Patients, Women: 2,131,865
Emergency Contraception Kits: 1,440,495
Female Sterilization Procedures: 822
Vasectomy Patients: 4,166
Total Contraceptive Services: 3,577,348
“516,000 unintended pregnancies averted by Planned Parenthood contraceptive services.”

The number of unplanned pregnancies prevented is calculated “using [a] formula developed by the Guttmacher Institute.” That’s all we get. Presumably the formula weights more effective birth control methods, so that the additional 417 vasectomies, 2,010 reversible contraception prescriptions, and one female sterilization more than counteracted the… 149,638 decrease in emergency contraception.

Wow, that can’t possibly be right. If anybody can make heads or tails of this, speak up in the comments.

*My source for this is SFLA’s most recent “audit” email, dated December 31, 2014, which I unfortunately can’t link to.