On Thursday, the Senate passed a measure that would allow states to block federal funding for family planning organizations such as Planned Parenthood, with our very own Vice President Mike Pence casting the tiebreaker vote. This bill overrides a protection that stopped states from defunding these centers purely for political reasons and was created during Obama's presidency.
So, what does this mean?
Centers like Planned Parenthood receive Title X money that is specifically set aside for family planning and other relative health services for women. Title X grants cover birth control, pregnancy care, cancer and other disease screening and treatments, but they can't be used for abortion services.
All Democrat senators and two Republican senators voted against the bill, but it wasn't enough, and as a result it will now become even harder for women to have access to health care.
Quite frankly, I am sick of this. It is not up to any politician whatsoever to decide whether or not women should be given access to quality health care. It is not up to any politician to decide whether or not women can have abortions. That choice should belong with women alone, as it is their bodies that are carrying (or not carrying - see how that works?) the baby.
And here's another thing I think people aren't realizing: defunding Planned Parenthood and other family planning centers is not going to solve any problems. In fact, it'll just create more of them. Women aren't going to wake up and think, "Okay, even though I do not want to be pregnant, I guess I'll just have to keep it now since I can't go to Planned Parenthood."
Not all pregnancies came from a happy marriage where both parents were ready and consenting. And no child deserves to be born into a family where it is not wanted or cannot be cared for adequately. In addition to that, no child deserves to be placed into foster care because their real parents were not ready for a child, but had no other options.
No one wakes up in the morning and thinks, "Oh boy, I'm getting an abortion today!" No one carries their baby for nearly the full nine months and then randomly decides to have an abortion. Late-term abortions only happen when there is a serious threat to either the mother or the baby.
Abortion is not a decision you make in five minutes. It is not fun, and many women who get abortions wish it didn't have to come to that in the first place. Defunding Planned Parenthood does not guarantee that women will stop getting abortions, it only guarantees that women will stop getting safe abortions.
Sheetal Tadiparty
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