Planned Parenthood seems to be perennially whining about the amount of taxpayer dollars it receives, but the nation’s largest abortion provider pays several of its CEOs handsome salaries of more than half a million dollars, according to a new report.
Five Planned Parenthood CEOs, who run local affiliates, make upwards of $500,000 a year, according to a December report by the American Life League.
The highest-paid Planned Parenthood CEO is Darrah DiGiorgio Johnson, who pulls in a salary of $616,926 to head Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, the report notes.
The other CEOs who make more than half a million dollars are Stacy Cross of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, Ken Lambrecht of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, Sarah Stoesz of Planned Parenthood North Central States, and Ruth-Ellen Blodgett of Planned Parenthood of the Mid-Hudson Valley, the report says.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s medical advisor, is the nation’s highest-paid federal employee, making $437,000 a year. Even so, there are nine Planned Parenthood CEOs who make more than Fauci.
The average salary of a Planned Parenthood CEO is more than $300,000. Planned Parenthood pays all of its affiliate CEOs a total of nearly $16 million, according to the report.
Top executives make even more money.
Leana Wen, who was Planned Parenthood’s top CEO until 2019, had a salary of more than $1.2 million during her brief stint at the organization, the report said.
Wen briefly led Planned Parenthood for eight months in 2018 and 2019 before she was ousted over philosophical differences. She had tried to steer the nation’s largest abortion provider away from politics and placing too much emphasis on abortion, but some on Planned Parenthood’s board of directors disagreed with that approach.
Dawn Laguens had a salary of more than $1.1 million in her role as a senior advisor for Planned Parenthood, the report said.
“One glaring thing that stuck out for me was the fact that killing babies and harming women from adolescence onward appears to be extremely lucrative,” said American Life League President Judie Brown.
“Clearly, it is time Congress removed Planned Parenthood’s ‘charitable organization’ status and ended the forcing of all American citizens to fund this organization,” the American Life League said at the end of its report.
Planned Parenthood is awarded $618 million from the federal government each year, but that has not stopped it from griping that the organization should be awarded more.
“There are sadly some states that have already been successful in defunding Planned Parenthood. This has allowed us to see the horrifying effects of closing down PP health centers,” Planned Parenthood says on its website.
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has reported a total profit of $285 million over the last three years.
The report also found that Planned Parenthood’s black CEOs are sometimes paid less than its white CEOs, even when their affiliate has a higher income.
Kersha Deibel, who is black and heads Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, is the abortion provider’s lowest-paid CEO, making $124,045, even though her affiliate has an annual income higher than 16 other affiliates, the report said.
Only three Planned Parenthood affiliates have black CEOs, according to the report.