Clare Coleman, writing in the April 17 Washington Post Outlook section, defends Planned Parenthood against claims that since money is fungible, giving the organization federal money allows it to spend other money on abortions. Coleman says that such shifting is impossible by law. Title X, the federal money, exists only to provide contraceptives and sexual health care to the poor. And it is never enough to satisfy total demand, so Planned Parenthood has to find other money to support the Title X project—not using Title X money to fund abortions.
Coleman's argument makes clear that she doesn't understand the point about fungibility. Suppose Title X funding and private contributions allow Planned Parenthood to cover 50 percent of demand by the poor. If Title X funding were now to increase by $10 million, Planned Parenthood could decide to maintain total coverage at 50 percent and shift $10 million of the private contributions to cover abortions. Planned Parenthood might not choose to do so, but there would be no legal constraint against it.
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