A bicameral coalition of 128 Republican members of Congress is asking the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general to investigate Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliates, review the organization’s compliance with federal law, and determine whether taxpayer funds have been misused. The request, led by Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, arrives as a separate federal agency reviews more than $88 million in pandemic-era loans received by 38 Planned Parenthood affiliates.

The letter to HHS Inspector General T. March Bell asks the watchdog to scrutinize all federal funding flowing to Planned Parenthood through HHS programs, grants, contracts and sub-awards, and to determine whether evidence exists of fraud, waste, abuse, misrepresentation or other violations. If misconduct is uncovered, the lawmakers want the inspector general to consider consequences that could include suspension, exclusion from federal healthcare programs, or referral to other authorities.

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“We write to request that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) review and, if appropriate, initiate an investigation into the activities of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. and the organization’s affiliates,” the lawmakers wrote.

“Planned Parenthood and its affiliates have faced serious allegations involving the use of federal funds and compliance with federal law. Those allegations deserve a thorough review,” Lankford said.

“Given the significant taxpayer resources that flow through federal health and human services programs, it is critical that recipient organizations operate with transparency, integrity, and full compliance with federal standards,” the lawmakers wrote.

The scope of the request goes far beyond the pandemic loans. The lawmakers are asking the inspector general to coordinate with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of Management and Budget on what they described as a comprehensive review of Planned Parenthood’s activities. The letter also references reports alleging that Planned Parenthood affiliates failed to comply with mandatory reporting requirements involving suspected child abuse or neglect, and it asks federal officials to examine those allegations. Smith, co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, said the scrutiny was long overdue and cited allegations involving federal funding, reporting requirements, sexual exploitation and fetal tissue.

The Small Business Administration is separately reviewing whether 38 Planned Parenthood affiliates were eligible for the more than $88 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans they received during the pandemic. The SBA has characterized its action as a review of eligibility, not a finding that the affiliates violated the law, but the lawmakers cited the SBA review in their letter and described it as an investigation into whether the affiliates illegally received the loans. HHS-OIG told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening that it had not yet received the letter and would review it for appropriate action once received. Planned Parenthood did not respond to a request for comment.

Let’s pray for the inspectors general and federal officials who will decide whether to act on this request, that they would pursue truth rather than political convenience and hold accountable any organization that has misused federal funds. Let’s pray for courage in the pro-life movement, that believers would not grow weary in advocating for the unborn and exposing systems that profit from ending life. Let’s pray for women facing unplanned pregnancies, that they would encounter life-affirming support rather than pressure to abort, and that the church would be the first to offer tangible help. And let’s pray for a nation that has spent decades funding the largest abortion provider in America, remembering Proverbs 24:11: “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.”

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(Photo Credit: Fibonacci Blue – Flickr: Planned Parenthood in St. Paul, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31846166).