Planned Parenthood, the largest executor of abortions in the United States, is sponsoring Politico’s Playbook newsletter this week, despite the fact that the media outlet routinely covers Planned Parenthood without a disclaimer.
Politico author Jack Blanchard did not respond when asked how much Planned Parenthood had paid for the spot. But in 2016, weekly sponsorships were “expected to cost in the range of $50,000 and $60,000,” according to The Washington Post. Blanchard also failed to respond to queries about the process by which Playbook sponsors are selected and about who signs off on the selection.
Not only is Planned Parenthood’s logo plastered at the top of each of this week’s Playbook emails, but in a blurb mid-newsletter, the abortion group advertises its services and takes a potshot at “lawmakers who oppose reproductive health,” using a common euphemism for abortion services.
Image Creditfdrlst/canva, screenshot from Politico
The link provided in the ad takes readers to the website of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the 501(c)(4) arm of the organization. Most of the blurbs on that site try to paint Planned Parenthood’s work as general women’s health care, minimizing its role as an abortion mill. But the group administered 392,715 abortions in its 2021-2022 fiscal year — that’s more than half of the total number of abortions that were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2022 for the entire country.
And abortions “made up 97.1% of Planned Parenthood’s pregnancy resolution services” in 2021-2022, according to a Charlotte Lozier Institute review of Planned Parenthood’s annual report. “[P]renatal services, miscarriage care, and adoption referrals” made up less than 3 percent.
Further down Tuesday’s Playbook newsletter, two color ads declare in all-caps, “everyone should have the power to control their own body and future” — code for “power to end the life of a child in the womb” — and “I’m for Planned Parenthood.”
Image Creditfdrlst/canva, screenshot from Politico
Planned Parenthood, which “reported nearly $2.1 billion in income and over $2.5 billion in net assets” in 2022-2023, has been caught selling the body parts of aborted babies for a profit, allegedly offering unlicensed second-trimester abortions, and even leaving women dead in botched abortions. Just two months ago, in February, an 18-year-old woman died after a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado delayed the proper emergency treatment following a botched abortion at 22 weeks, according to testimony delivered to a Colorado House committee.
For its part, Politico often covers abortion and Planned Parenthood specifically, using pro-abortion terms and euphemisms like “abortion access” and “abortion rights.” An April 1 story referred to Planned Parenthood as a “reproductive care group,” despite the fact that abortions are neither care nor pro-reproduction. That article laid out Planned Parenthood’s legislative priorities in California with quotes from the CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and four sympathetic legislators. No one who might have disagreed with the group’s agenda or pointed out the downsides of its legislative priorities was quoted in the story.
In June 2024, Politico ran an “exclusive” titled “Inside the $100 million plan to restore abortion rights in America.”
“Leaders of the coalition say they want to make the procedure more accessible and affordable than ever before,” the subhead declared. Alice Ollstein, the article’s author and Politico’s senior health care reporter, was reported in 2022 to be a registered Democrat.
When a Florida law limiting abortions after six weeks of gestation went into effect, Politico ran a sympathetic piece about the plight of Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities that were “scrambling” in its wake.
Back in 2022, a few months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Politico came out with a one-sided “survey” that told readers “we want to hear from you” if “abortion laws [are] affecting your access to health care.” You don’t have to be a polling expert to detect the self-selection bias in such a survey. Specifically, the survey fished for stories from anyone who might have “been denied emergency treatment for a miscarriage or pregnancy-related complication.” It is a common pro-abortion talking point to claim that the court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson restricts care for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies. It does not.
Coincidentally, Politico was also the outlet that published the leaked Dobbs opinion in May 2022. After the leak, pro-abortion protesters launched an intimidation campaign against the justices who were expected to vote in the majority, including Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who survived an attempt on his life.
Elle Purnell is the elections editor at The Federalist. Her work has been featured by Fox Business, RealClearPolitics, the Tampa Bay Times, and the Independent Women’s Forum. She received her B.A. in government from Patrick Henry College with a minor in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @_ellepurnell.
