It’s been called the “most dangerous legislative assault on women’s health ever.”
On February 18th, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to ban all federal funding for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, adding more fuel to the already-flaming healthcare debate. Despite providing contraceptives, sexual health counseling, cancer screenings, pregnancy testing, testing and treatment for STDs, and basic healthcare for low-income families, the organization, with over 800 locations in the U.S., is primarily known as “the abortion clinic.”
It is true that Planned Parenthood provides pregnancy termination, but in 2008, the organization reported that abortions made up only 2-3% of its services for the entire year.
“Nobody is saying Planned Parenthood can’t be the leading advocate of abortion on demand, but why do I have to pay for it?” Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said.
As the Republican face of the opposition, Pence believes that it is morally wrong to use pro-life Americans’ tax dollars to pay for abortions, but supporters of Planned Parenthood argue the representative’s point to be moot, as it is already illegal to use government funds for the procedure. Only one-third of the organization’s budget is made up of federal dollars, the rest coming from private donors such as the Buffett and Ted Turner foundations. Pence’s theory is that the government dollars “free up” funding for the abortion procedures.
The initiative to zero-out Planned Parenthood’s funding is frequently referred to as an “attack on women” and has sparked heated rhetoric even though it’s doubtful the bill will pass without revision in the narrowly Democratic Senate.
“These actions by the majority would severely hurt women’s rights and insert the government in private decisions about abortion and are nothing short of an all-out war on women,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).
The real argument is that Planned Parenthood doesn’t just terminate pregnancies. They also educate more than three million patients nation-wide on sexual health, the first line of defense against an unplanned pregnancy. Over 60% of the organization’s services involve providing birth control pills and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Opponents of the legislation say that banning all federal funding would only exacerbate the issue of abortion.
Without adequate funding, many Planned Parenthood locations could close, leaving patients without the education or contraceptives to effectively prevent pregnancy. Remember, the majority of Planned Parenthood patients are low-income, unable to pay for healthcare. The pre-Roe V. Wade back-alley abortion stories could become a frightening possibility if the dream of cutting off all federal funding to the clinics came true.
“I do think the education should be out there for anyone who needs it and I’m not sure it would be if funds were unavailable,” said Lavelle Brooks, a Georgia registered nurse. “Hospitals don’t provide that information. Generally, it’s not something we do.”
Planned Parenthood currently runs on a 1 billion dollar budget, servicing all 800-plus locations with about 16 million dollars allocated for sex health education.
“A lot of people can’t afford to go to a personal physician and it’s a scary thing to be pregnant and not be able to afford healthcare. I see babies born with defects or deficiencies because the mothers weren’t able to afford prenatal care,” said Brooks, naming yet another service the organization provides.
Planned Parenthood has responded to the proposed legislation as “radically out of step with mainstream American values.”
“More than 90% of Planned Parenthood’s care is preventative care. Planned Parenthood does more to prevent unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion than any organization in America,” said Cecile Richards, president of the federation.
Here on campus, the views on the controversial bill seem to side with the organization.
UCF political science major, Sean Ellingham said, “I believe abortion is acceptable only if the life of the mother is threatened, but I still don’t think they should lose their funding. As long as it isn’t used directly for abortions, I don’t see the problem.”
“Abortion is not something I condone, but it’s not the only thing Planned Parenthood does. They offer several other services that some people cannot access as easily as others. That’s why I don’t mind that part of my money goes to support the organization,” said forensic science major Lindsay O’Keefe.
With the bill in the Senate, Richards addressed the attack as an opportunity to finally shift the abortion conversation to the more important, all-encompassing issue of women’s health, a talk that has been long overdue.
