I've seen so many comments, Facebook statuses, and articles about Planned Parenthood.Whether these articles are in defense of reproductive choice or against it, they usually only focus on one thing: abortion services. But did you know that only 3% of the services Planned Parenthood provides are abortion services?
I know that there are many people who are scared that federal funding goes into these abortion services, but in all reality, that hasn't happened since the '70s. (You can read about the Hyde Amendment here) While I disagree with that, anti-abortionists have nothing to worry about, and if they really want Planned Parenthood defunded, they can't call themselves pro-life. That's because Planned Parenthood actually provides a plethora of other services that are integral to healthy mothers and healthy babies.
The news is full of fake information and fake videos, so as the first installment of my monthly sexual education series, I'm here to set us all straight.
So what else do they do?
Provide 4.2 million tests and treatments for STI's yearly
Provide 270,000 Pap Tests
Provide 360,000 breast cancer exams
Educational outreach about sex education to 1.5 million young adults in a single year
80% of their services are providing contraception
Provide prenatal care
Provide ultrasounds
Provide pregnancy services
Provides more than 650,000 HIV tests
So there it is. Defunding Planned Parenthood is also defunding all of these stellar services. People say that defunding Planned Parenthood is the "pro-life" thing to do, but I don't think so. I think that denying women, children and some men these services is absolutely anti-life.
Without medical care, women and children will die, bringing the death toll higher than it was before, just like the death toll was higher before legal abortion (ever heard of coat hanger abortions?). And here's the great thing- those things I listed above? That's what medicare funds, not abortions, so you can sleep tight knowing you just helped a cancer patient.
Whether you're pro-choice or pro-life, defunding it just doesn't make sense. Why would you want to take away HIV testing, cancer treatments and exams, and even prenatal care for pregnant women? Doesn't that seem contradictory?
For more information, visit Planned Parenthood's website.
Here are some other great resources:
This is part of my monthly reproductive health segment. Please share what topics you'd like to see in the comments!
