By Casey Harper, for The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Abortion-providing groups received $1.89 billion in taxpayer money from fiscal years 2019 to 2021, a newly released federal watchdog report shows.

The Government Accountability Office, a federal agency, conducted the report at lawmakers’ request, showing that Planned Parenthood received the lion’s share, taking in $1.78 billion in those years. Planned Parenthood is estimated to have performed more than one million abortions during that time.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., alleged Planned Parenthood, which received $90.4 million from the Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID-19 pandemic, received that money illegally, saying it was intended for struggling small businesses.

“It is appalling that big abortion providers are continuing to receive billions of dollars in federal taxpayer funding,” Blackburn said in a statement. “While small businesses struggled to make ends meet during the pandemic, Planned Parenthood illegally siphoned over $90 million from the Paycheck Protection Program, specifically designed to help our mom and pop shops keep their doors open.

“The American people want their tax dollars spent responsibly and in line with our nation’s values — not on the Left’s abortion-on-demand agenda.”

The federal funding to Planned Parenthood came in large part via reimbursements from Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP to the tune of $1.53 billion with another $148.5 million via federal grants.

According to the GAO report, annual federal grant money to Planned Parenthood has quadrupled since 2019, possibly showing a change in sentiment between the Trump and Biden administration.

GAO found that the International Planned Parenthood Federation also received $2.03 million and MSI Reproductive Choices took in $1.35 million in taxpayer dollars while four more regional abortion providers were paid a total of $107.74 million by the federal government.

The report came after a coalition of House and Senate Republicans in 2022 called on the GAO to provide the report.

The lawmakers requested the report because of previous reporting showing that in fiscal years 2016-2018, almost $2 billion in taxpayer funding went to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Marie Stopes International, and International Planned Parenthood Federation, all abortion-providing and advocacy groups.

Despite backlash, that trend has continued.

“GAO found that Planned Parenthood received a whopping $1.78 billion between 2019-2021 while the nation was struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and the Co-Chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus. “Federal taxpayer dollars should not be funneled to big abortion corporations like Planned Parenthood, which has killed over 9.3 million unborn children since 1970, including 1.11 million between 2019-2021. This money would have been better spent helping the businesses that were forced to close or providing comprehensive medical support for both women and children.”