One of the NFL’s most renowned teams’ charitable foundations has donated money to Planned Parenthood. According to an article on Live Action, the Green Bay Packers Foundation distributed a press release last month listing recipients of their $2.05 million annual grant. One of those recipients is Planned Parenthood. This news is shocking, partly due to the Green Bay Packers Foundation’s mission, which is to “support charities possessing one or more of the following goals: perpetuates a community environment that promotes families and the competitive value of athletics; contributes to player and fan welfare; ensures the safety and education of children; and/or prevents cruelty to animals.”
So why would the Green Bay Packers Foundation donate to the nation’s largest abortion chain, which does not protect children’s safety by any means? The Green Bay Packers Foundation told the Green Bay Press Gazette that the grant is for one specific Planned Parenthood program, Cuidándonos Creceremos más Sanos (CCmáS), which engages with underserved Latino families in southeastern Wisconsin to provide health care and education. Tanya Atkinson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood in Wisconsin, also told the Green Bay Press Gazette, “The Medical College of Wisconsin is predicting cancer rates among Hispanic women will double in the next 10 years. Programs like CCmáS serve as a critical connector between patients and the health care they need.” Although Planned Parenthood claims to provide health care services, the percentages for health screenings are small—less than 2% for breast exams (and zero mammograms), less than 1% for Pap tests (screening for cervical cancer), and less than 2% for cancer screenings for women in total.
Aaron Popkey, the Packers’ Director of Public Affairs, told the Green Bay Press Gazette that their team and Foundation “certainly understand” there are individuals who don’t agree with the organizations that the grant supports. “The organization respects those views. Grant applications are considered specific to their initiatives and do not necessarily imply endorsement of other actions by the organizations.”
Fortunately, foundations of the Greater Philadelphia region’s NFL team—the Philadelphia Eagles—focus on matters that actually help children, including vision care and research for autism.
(Article published in the Pro-Life Union’s January 2020 newsletter update)