American Life League (ALL) has just released a report exposing an “incestuous business relationship” between Planned Parenthood and Afaxys Pharmaceuticals which allows the abortion provider to make millions of dollars more at the expense of the taxpayer.
In a statement accompanying the report, ALL explains how Planned Parenthood’s profitable relationship with the pharmaceutical company works.
Birth control products make their way to the consumer by passing through the hands of the manufacturer, distributor, and family planning clinics (such as Planned Parenthood). Each entity marks up the price of the product in order to make a profit.
Since 1970, the federal government has been using taxpayer dollars to lower the cost of birth control products for low-income people through the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
In 2008, everything began to change when Planned Parenthood began deliberately trying to gain control of the birth control supply chain by creating Afaxys.
Afaxys, a “Planned Parenthood affiliated company” is run by former top Planned Parenthood executives, most notably Ronda Dean, the company’s co-founder, president and CEO, who previously worked as vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. ALL found that at least three current CEOs of Planned Parenthood affiliates serve as board directors at Afaxys. Furthermore, Planned Parenthood affiliates even provided start-up funds to the pharmaceutical company in return for company stock.
By creating Afaxys, Planned Parenthood’s established their necessary final link to taking control of the birth control supply chain:
Beginning in 2008, Afaxys began operating a group purchasing organization. The purpose of this GPO was to sign on clinics and centers (including Planned Parenthood facilities) as “partners” and to negotiate reduced prices for birth control products from the manufacturers. In 2013 Afaxys announced a new division, Afaxys Pharmaceuticals, which has become a manufacturer of generic birth control products.
With this, Planned Parenthood and its “affiliated company” now have their tentacles into every step of the birth control supply chain.
Jim Sedlack, executive director of ALL, expressed concern over the close relationship between these two entities which makes it seemingly impossible for Congress to effectually cut off all taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood by just passing a defunding bill:
The incestuous relationship between these organizations causes concern over taxpayer-funded 340B programs. As Congress appears to vote on taking direct taxpayer funding from Planned Parenthood, it has established this new relationship to keep taxpayer funding flowing through indirect channels.
The report’s authors accuse Planned Parenthood and Afaxys relationship of being “a concerted effort to make more money from the American taxpayer” by allowing a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization receive indirect funds from the company. Sedlack calls Planned Parenthood’s actions “a takeover of the entire public sector supply chain” which must be challenged.
ALL’s report, which was delivered to Congress earlier this week, contained a message calling for a federal investigation of the indirect channels through which taxpayer funding will continue to flow to Planned Parenthood even if it is defunded:
As Congress moves to shut off all direct funding of Planned Parenthood for the next year, we urge members of Congress to launch a full investigation of Afaxys and all Planned Parenthood’s “affiliated companies” and end its indirect access to taxpayer funds.
Not only does Planned Parenthood receive over half a billion dollars from taxpayer wallets each year, but now it has found a way to profit off of the pharmaceutical market as well. Lawmakers cannot afford to wait any longer. The time to defund the abortion giant is now.
Photo credit: American Life League via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0
