We Can't Afford to Defund Planned Parenthood

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Defunding Planned Parenthood

Defunding Planned Parenthood has recently become a huge controversial issue in the United States. President Trump’s proposal to cut federal funding has caused major problems and plenty of conversation between pro-life advocates and those who rely on Planned Parenthood for affordable health care. Budget cuts may seem like a good idea to some. However, taking away Planned Parenthood means taking away services such as free std screenings, cancer screenings, emergency contraception, LGBT services, abortion services, and general health care. As a woman especially, the importance of Planned Parenthood is understood, and taking away such services could be extremely unreasonable and leave many with no alternative.

Many people don’t seem to fully understand what Planned Parenthood really does for their patients, which could be one of the main reasons why so many pro-life advocates are rooting for Trump’s proposal. It is true that abortion services are provided to those who do not wish to follow through with their pregnancy. However, according to “Keep Funding Planned Parenthood” written by Anthony Barrasso, abortion services only take up about 3% of their services provided. While std testing and treatment takes up 41%, emergency contraception takes up another 34%, cancer screenings take up 9%, and other health services take up about 10%. This just goes to show that the main topic of discussion here shouldn’t even be about abortion. We should be questioning why so many individuals want to see all these other services taken away from those in need. These health centers are providing birth control to nearly 2 million people a year. As well as preforming over 320,000 breast exams, and 295,000 pap tests. Taking away Planned Parenthood could mean making it nearly impossible for millions of people to get the affordable health care they need.

Although many have chosen to side with Trump, there are those who genuinely care and want to see Planned Parenthood stay in business. Senator Brown being one of them. As Brown recently told the New York Times, he believes “Planned Parenthood cuts have gone too far”. He also states that he does in fact support family planning and health care services for women (Steinhauer). Brown has argued that their needs to be some kind of compromise, a way to meet in the middle, without taking away all these services completely, and he’s right. There’s got to be a way to please everyone. If budget cuts need to be made, do it in a way that will not put the lives of millions of people at risk. The idea that taking away affordable health care completely is a good idea because abortion is frowned upon by a few is absurd. There is a much bigger picture here.

So, let’s think about this realistically for a minute. A lot of people who rely on Planned Parenthood for quality health care, are those who cannot afford much else. So, what will be the outcome of taking away the only form of health care millions of people turn to? Pro-life advocates want to make these changes to cancel out abortion. To take away a mother’s right. However, making these changes will not cause abortion rates to drop. There will probably be a steady rise in at-home abortions, which is very dangerous and probably not very sanitary. Why would we take away a woman’s right to abort her child in a safe environment if that’s the route she chooses to take? Nobody should have the right to choose what a woman can or cannot do with her body, especially when it comes to pregnancy.

Now think about the fact that defunding Planned Parenthood would take away free std screenings and treatment. This may not seem like the biggest issue; however, sexually transmitted diseases have become a huge problem all around the world. It is important that men and women of all ages get tested when they feel necessary, and in a place where they can feel safe, comfortable, and where they can afford the care they need. The inability to see a doctor for such reasons could result in transmitting the infection to other sex partners. Even worse, the longer a person goes untreated, the more likely they are to deal with long term complications. Complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility. This could easily be avoided with something as simple as a free testing service.

How about cancer screenings? Just like a std screening, it is important to get tested regularly to catch the disease early on. Something as life threatening as cancer, should be taken a little more seriously. How about emergency contraception? Or LGBT services? It’s clear that Planned Parenthood has done a lot more than just provide general health care. They have become a community. A place where anyone could turn to. They’ve made it clear that they don’t care who you are or how much money you may have in your wallet. They want to help, they want to provide quality service. They want you to feel safe and welcome, and we need more places like this around the world.

Obviously, there are many reasons why budget cuts may not be such a great idea, so why is it up for discussion in the first place? This would be because 85 anti-abortion groups have signed a letter stating that the family planning money should go elsewhere, to somewhere other than Planned Parenthood. Approximately 41 senators and 153 representatives have also written letters to the Department of Health and Human services, stating they feel the exact same way (Sullivan). Many of these groups seem to believe that Planned Parenthood is one of the largest abortion chains in the nation, which simply isn’t true. Until it is understood that Planned Parenthood is much more than just an abortion clinic, this topic will continue to spark a debate.

There hasn’t just been a couple of debates over this issue, though. There have been multiple rallies. People on both sides are angry. There are those angry that Planned Parenthood exists in the first place, and there are those who are angry because of the fact that men and women everywhere are choosing to vote to pass a law allowing other people to dictate what they can and cannot do with their bodies. What if you were one of the few who didn’t have many other options, would you still want to defund Planned Parenthood? What if we forgot about the 3% who use their abortion services and remember those who have relied on these health services for years? What if we thought about the millions of people that have had their lives saved by a cancer screening or a free std test? Would it make a difference? What if we chose to have a little sympathy for the ones who need it? What kind of difference would it make if we chose to see things from someone else’s point of view for once?

Other than those who just disagree with the idea of abortion, there are many who believe that Planned Parenthood is simply failing as an organization. Or at least that’s what Roman tells all in his article titled “The Bad Business of Planned Parenthood”. Roman believes that the business is facing serious financial difficulties and is having trouble keeping customers. Roman also states that Planned Parenthood may feel threatened by abstinence-only safe education programs. Meaning, abstinence could take the place of contraception and adoption could take the place of abortion. Which could potentially put Planned Parenthood out of business in the long run.

Although there are many who would agree to defund Planned Parenthood all together, these health centers have provided many services throughout the years to those who may not have been able to afford care anywhere else. Taking away these funds would do a lot more than just shut down these buildings and take away beneficial services. Budget cuts would result in many going without the health care they need, it would mean women getting unsafe abortions feeling like they had no other option, it would make it a lot harder for minorities and low-income families to stay healthy, it would take away an education from young men and women, it may even allow infections to go undetected. Nothing good could from taking these services away from those in need, and that’s what we need to think about the next time we try to take away someone’s only way to affordable health care.

Works Cited

Rovner, Julie. “What Does Trump's Proposal to Cut Planned Parenthood Funds Mean?” NPR, NPR, 18 May 2018, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/05/18/612445385/what-does-trumps-proposal-to-cut-planned-parenthood-funds-mean. Accessed on Nov. 4, 2018.

Steinhauer, Jennifer. “Brown Says Planned Parenthood Cuts Go 'Too Far'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Mar. 2011, thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/brown-says-planned-parenthood-cuts-go-too-far/. Accessed on Nov. 4, 2018

Sullivan, Peter. “Anti-Abortion Groups Call on Trump to Cut Planned Parenthood off from Family Planning Grants.” TheHill, 1 May 2018, thehill.com/policy/healthcare/385678-anti-abortion-groups-call-on-trump-to-cut-planned-parenthood-off-from. Accessed on Nov. 4, 2018.

North, Anna. “Opinion | What Planned Parenthood Really Does.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Dec. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2016/03/19/opinion/what-planned-parenthood-really-does.html. Accessed Nov. 4, 2018.

Parenthood, Planned. “The Impact of Defunding Planned Parenthood.” Planned Parenthood Action Fund, www.istandwithpp.org/defund-defined/impact-defunding-planned-parenthood. Accessed Nov. 5, 2018.

Roman, Mauricio. “The Bad Business of Planned Parenthood.” The Bad Business of Planned Parenthood Virtue Online – The Voice for Global Orthodox Anglicanism, www.virtueonline.org/bad-business-planned-parenthood. Accessed Nov. 5, 2018.

Barrasso, Anthony. Keep Funding Planned Parenthood. 2015, scienceaces.wordpress.com/2015/08/13/keep-funding-planned-parenthood/. Accessed Nov. 12, 2018.