Today, I went to an optional talk offered by the Reproductive Health Elective at my school with a representative from Planned Parenthood. As I am sure all of you readers know, funding for Planned Parenthood is a current hot topic for this election, so I was very eager to attend and hear what the representative had to say. Mitt Romney has stated on many occasions that under his legislation, he will discontinue federal funding for "pro-abortion" non-profits, namely Planned Parenthood. So, if elected, one of his missions would be to shut down the thousands of Planned Parenthood clinics around the nation.
As someone who is pro-choice, a fervent believer in women's reproductive rights, and a future medical professional, I find it an absolute tragedy that this is even in discussion. For the last 10 years, since these issues of womens' health and reproductive rights have really been brought into light, women representatives have been silenced and denied opportunities to speak out about womens' health rights. Many of the legislatures that are making these decisions are conservative, white males with no medical expertise and no base understanding of what women's health involves. In fact, when Lisa Brown (a representative supporting continued financial support for Planned Parenthood) began discussing her views about an anti-abortion law and used language like "vagina" and "vasectomy"; she was immediately looked down upon and silenced.
A quote:
“I used that word because we were debating a women's health issue. Vagina, by the way, is the correct medical name of a part of women's anatomy lawmakers want to regulate. My statements were within the rules of the House and were clearly appropriate in relation to the bill we were discussing. One of my counterparts, Rep. Mike Callton, R-Nashville, said ‘vagina’ is such a disturbing word that he would never deign to use it in the presence of women or ‘mixed company.’ This, from a man who earned a bachelor's degree in biology.” -Lisa Brown
That was kind of a tangent...but lets get back to the main topic....
The support to discontinue funds for Planned Parenthood are founded on incorrect and incomplete information. The support is based on the idea of wanting to stop abortion rights by discontinuing organizations that provide these services. However, what many people with this view do not understand is 1) the wide range of services provided by Planned Parenthood, 2) the current policies on funding abortions, and 3) the larger societal implications that stopping this funding would create.
First, Planned Parenthood does not simply provide birth control and abortions; instead, there are three realms of services offered: medical, education and patient advocacy. So, along with basic medical care, PP also offers safe-sex education courses, parenting classes on how to discuss the birds and the bees, and advocacy for patients having the ability to obtain the health care that they deserve. In fact, 90% of what Planned Parenthood provide are preventative services. Only 3% of what they provide are abortion consults and procedures. Moreover, in Michigan there are only 2 centers in the entire state that offer the options of having abortions. Thus, the majority of centers are simply medical centers for women and men who cannot afford to see a physician (due to lack of health care...which is another different issue). So, for supporters of stopping federal funding to Planned Parenthood to say that this is stop abortion, it is clearly obvious that this lack of funding is missing the point.
Secondly, the current policies on funding for abortion is this: NO public fundings go to pay for abortions. NONE. This has been fact since 1976. So, again, this claim that stopping funding for Planned Parenthood would stop the funding of abortions is ludicrous, because these have not be funded for 35 years.
Thirdly, when you think of the larger implications if planned parenthood services are stopped, it is crazy to think of what will happen. Imagine what such a decrease in preventative medicine will do for reproductive health. Imagine if there is no funding for contraceptives, no options for women to get gynecological care and no education for teens about safe-sex practices.
This policy of defunding Planned Parenthood is a huge huge mistake that will have huge burdens on our future populations. It is easy for people who are pro-life to be swayed by the idea that stopping funding for Planned Parenthood will decrease the access to abortions, but it is critical for everyone to truly understand what this lack of funding will do and what larger implications may occur if this legislative action takes effect.
You go girl!
ReplyDeleteBTW, it's YOUR blog so you should feel free to post any and all opinions you please :)