WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee is calling on the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to review Planned Parenthood’s tax-exempt status in light of recent revelations the abortion giant has branched out into elective cosmetic services.

Last month, The New York Times reported on Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, whose locations span California and Nevada, beginning to offer Botox injections and hydration drips as a way to make up revenue lost to Trump administration funding restrictions.

“The reality is that our patients now are seeking aesthetic services as part of their whole well-being,” said the affiliate’s chief medical operating officer, Dr. Laura Dalton. “So, I think, actually, aesthetics is an alignment with what Planned Parenthood stands for. Planned Parenthood stands for bodily autonomy. Planned Parenthood stands for: You decide what is best for you, and what you need to feel good, and to feel like your body is what you want it to be.”

“After our announcement, we had 30 providers immediately sign up, asking to be trained,” Dalton added. “It’s a great way to keep our providers engaged and add to their skill set.”

One unit of Botox at the Sacramento clinic costs $9, and a standard treatment to smooth crow’s feet, for example, would require six to 20 units per side, Dr. Dalton said, which patients would pay for out of pocket,” the report notes, netting the abortion giant anywhere from $54 to $180 per side for a single procedure.

On April 3, Blackburn’s office announced she had written about the matter to IRS director of exempt organizations and government entities Robert Malone, arguing that Planned Parenthood’s new sideline may fall outside the scope of “charitable” medical efforts qualifying for tax-exempt status.

“An expansion ‘beyond a clinic’s core offerings’ requires the stamp of approval from the National Office, meaning this is not the result of a single rogue affiliate but a top-down expansion and messaging effort,” the letter argues. “These developments not only raise concerns about Planned Parenthood growing beyond its original mission statement, but also about the use of its federally supported resources in that expansion. Federal cost-allocation rules require recipients of federal funding to properly separate costs associated with federally supported activities, and federal funds generally may not subsidize unrelated commercial services.”

“Under Internal Revenue Code §§511-514, nonprofit organizations may engage in activities unrelated to their charitable mission, but income from those activities may be subject to the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT),” the letter explains. “An exempt organization must file a Form 990-T if $1,000 or more of its gross income is derived from unrelated business. This 990-T ‘Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return” form must also be available for public inspection when requested. Pricing information suggests that even modest participation in these services could easily exceed the $1,000 UBIT reporting threshold.”

The Trump administration has taken numerous actions to curb federal tax dollars going to the abortion industry, including a one-year ban on federal tax dollars going through Medicaid to any entity (such as Planned Parenthood) that provides abortions for reasons other than rape, incest, or supposed threats to the mother’s life. 

However, much more remains to be done, as evidenced by Planned Parenthood’s 2024-2025 annual report released last week that says the abortion giant’s affiliates still received $832 million in “government health services reimbursement & grants” that comprised 38% of its total revenue. Despite the slew of state laws and federal rules it has contended with since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Planned Parenthood committed a record 434,450 abortions during the most recent reporting period, thanks in large part to mail distribution of abortion pills.