There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood lately, due to a misinterpreted and edited video that make it appear that the group illegally sold fetal body parts. And while there is no factual support or solid evidence of that being the case, it has sparked an outcry from Conservatives for Planned Parenthood to receive less funding, or be shut down altogether. Diane Black, a U.S. House Representative, has proposed legislation that Planned Parenthood would stop receiving federal payments for a year. The bill did not pass.
Yes, the video is disturbing and there is an awful lack of tact coming from the doctors involved. But judging an entire organization off of the flippant language coming from a couple of doctors is not enough reason to stop funding a group that has been far more beneficial than not. And the claim that they were illegally selling fetal body parts is faulty, seeing as there is almost no evidence to back it up. Selling fetal body parts is not illegal in the first place, as long as it is being used for research purposes and is not for profit. The CEO of Planned Parenthood has stated multiple times that they do not sell fetal body parts for profit, and no other evidence of that besides the questionable language in one video has been uncovered.
It’s more of an issue of whether women’s reproductive health will be supported by the government or not. The fact that this debate is going on, and that so many are rallying against Planned Parenthood, an organization that has been around for almost 100 years, is a sign that women’s reproductive health is still considered a controversial issue. It shouldn’t be- both men and women need sufficient places to receive information on STD’s, birth control, etcetera. Planned Parenthood is especially important for those who cannot afford it- slashing its funding would lead to medical neglect for lower income groups. Fighting against one of the largest providers of reproductive health care is getting us nowhere- actually, it almost seems as if we’re going backward.
One of the arguments for stopping funding to Planned Parenthood is that its business model is centered around promoting abortion, and even that their clinics perform too many abortions. But it seems that people are forgetting that not very many places provide safe abortion procedures- and just because Planned Parenthood is presenting abortion as an option, does not mean they are “promoting” it. Women have had the choice of terminating a pregnancy, but not always in a safe way- we need Planned Parenthood so that they can provide safe and legal abortions, and provide information about all of the options available to pregnant women. One of the best things about Planned Parenthood is that they provide multiple different possibilities- women should not be attacked or shamed for whatever they choose to do. It is their decision, and no one else’s.
Of course Planned Parenthood, a group that Conservatives have pretty much always opposed, is again under fire- mostly, it’s starting to seem, for providing abortion as an alternate. Whether you are pro-choice or pro-life, it does not matter. Another woman’s choice over what she does with her body and her life is no one else’s business but her own. It is legal, and women deserve to know about every possible option.
Additionally, Planned Parenthood is not usually thought of as an abortion provider. More associate it with contraception and women’s health care. Planned Parenthood has helped dropped teen pregnancy rates to the lowest it has been in 20 years, has answered 125,000 young peoples’ questions through their Chat/Text Program, and helped one million people outside of the U.S., including Ecuador and Nigeria, with sexual and reproductive health information and services. Abortion is only 3 percent of the organization’s services.
Planned Parenthood has also provided 487,000 breast exams, performed 378,962 pap tests, gave out over one million emergency contraceptive kits, and conducted 704,079 HIV tests. As a result, nearly 90 thousand women had abnormalities identified and cancer detected early, and 516,000 unintended pregnancies were avoided with Planned Parenthood’s services.
By using these videos as weak evidence for halting support, Conservatives are undermining all of the important work Planned Parenthood does. Planned Parenthood is necessary, and will never cease to be.
