Cardinal Daniel DiNardo

At a time when federal budget decisions "involve hard choices and much shared sacrifice," a decision on whether to fund the Planned Parenthood Federation of America "is not one of those hard choices," said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo.

In an April 13 letter to members of the U.S. congress, DiNardo said more than five million children have been aborted at Planned Parenthood facilities since 1970.

"The organization's involvement in abortion (now including chemical abortions using RU-486) has substantially increased in recent years, and its provision of other services such as prenatal care and adoption referrals has declined markedly," said the cardinal.