Why Are Unions In The Abortion Business?

By LaborUnionReport | 3:00 PM on July 25, 2015

The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.

Over the last week, as videos emerged of executives at the abortion factory known as Planned Parenthood allegedly selling aborted baby body parts, Planned Parenthood has, rightfully, come under heavy fire.

Now, however, Planned Parenthood’s allies on the Left are circling the wagons to defend the abortion factory.

For example, rather than investigating the potentially illegal practices of Planned Parenthood, Barack Obama’s new Attorney General, Lorretta Lynch, has announced that she is going to investigate the group that exposed the heinous actions.

In addition to the DOJ investigation, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has come forward to defend Planned Parenthood.

“Planned Parenthood provides comprehensive healthcare services to women across the country,” Trumka, the head of the 56-union federation stated in a press release. “Calls to defund it based on doctored undercover recordings are politically motivated and wrong. We support its core mission of offering safe healthcare services to women in need.” [Emphasis added.]

As the official spokesperson for America’s union movement, Trumka’s statement in support of Planned Parenthood, unfortunately, is purportedly representative of the views of 12.5 million union members. [He did not use “I” in his release, he used “we.”]

Considering that 94 percent of Planned Parenthood’s business is abortion, however, Trumka’s statement is also very misleading.

According to Planned Parenthood statistics (in PDF) compiled by Americans United for Life, Planned Parenthood’s affiliates performed more than 1.6 million abortions in the last five years, while its cancer screenings have been cut by more than half in the last 10 years.

In addition, for its last five reported “service” years, Planned Parenthood’s “abortion to adoption ratio is 201 to 1,” according to AUL’s report, and prenatal services “have been cut by more than half since 2009.”

Whether or not Trumka personally supports abortion and the dismemberment and sale of aborted baby body parts is his own business.

However, for the leader of America’s unions—who is speaking for all union members within his federation—to use his bully pulpit to voice continued support for the abortion factory, as well as its continued funding by American taxpayers seems to go beyond what unions should be doing.

Notwithstanding the fact that the SEIU represents some of Planned Parenthood’s employees, there was a time when unions restricted themselves to representing their members in the negotiating of wages, benefits, and working conditions.

However, it appears that time has long since passed.