What Defunding Planned Parenthood Means To Me
Start writing a post
Politics

What Defunding Planned Parenthood Means To Me

The terrifying reality of women's healthcare in 2017

26
What Defunding Planned Parenthood Means To Me
AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Deborah Cannon

Yesterday, House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that a bill repealing the Affordable Care Act will also attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.

It is 2017, and that is a real, terrifying sentence that I just wrote.

This legislation will affect an innumerable amount of people. Forget the financial burden 7 million senior citizens and disabled Americans enrolled in Medicare would have to shoulder, the 2.3 million Americans ages 19 to 25 insured under their parents’ plans who may be left without access to healthcare services, the 10.4 million low- and moderate-income Americans who were able to buy policies for less than 10% of their income, the 65 million low-income Americans covered under Medicaid.

Try to forget all of that, and now remember this: 2.5 million women and men in the United States visit Planned Parenthood annually. Beyond that, an estimated one in five women in the U.S. has visited a Planned Parenthood health center at least once in her life.

In announcing plans to nationally defund Planned Parenthood, Ryan and the GOP are blatantly disregarding women’s right to health care – a woman’s right to life.

Planned Parenthood receives about $500 million per year in funding from the federal government. It’s a common misconception that the majority of this money goes towards abortion services, when in fact only three percent of all Planned Parenthoods provide abortion services.

So where does all of the money go, then?

It goes to more than 270,000 Pap tests and 360,000 breast exams annually. It goes to over 4.2 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections – including more than 650,000 in H.I.V. tests (let us not forget the H.I.V. outbreak that ensued after Vice President-elect Mike Pence defunded Planned Parenthood in Indiana in 2011 – 181 cases from November 2014 to August 2015 in Scott County alone). In short, it goes towards providing women with vital healthcare services that they may not have access to otherwise.

This is an issue that is incredibly personal to me. Breast cancer runs in my family. Luckily, I am aware of this fact and fortunate enough to have access to the proper healthcare services for regular tests and, if needed, treatment.

So, although this legislation is heavily steeped in the ongoing abortion and Obamacare debate, it signifies more than just women’s loss of choice or Americans’ loss of healthcare. It signifies the government’s ability to stamp a price tag on a life. To deny women equal accessibility to cancer screenings is to deny many women – one in eight, to be exact – their right to life.

Defunding Planned Parenthood to me, then, means prioritizing my life over one of another woman who may not be afforded the access to healthcare services that I am. Every woman, no matter her socioeconomic status, should have an equal chance at the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Every woman should have an equal chance at keeping her life.

It is 2017, and that is a real, terrifying sentence that I just wrote.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

41863
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

26287
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

951511
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

135899
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments