Do you know what Planned Parenthood is? Like really know. Depending on your political affiliation, school you go to or the people you surround yourself with, the answer may not be a confident "yes". Before I even talk to you about funding Planned Parenthood, I want you to know a few things.

One hundred years ago, Planned Parenthood was founded on the idea that women should have access to quality healthcare, regardless of social or economic status. They continue to educate communities on sexual health today, and provide healthcare to people of all backgrounds. The U.S. gives Planned Parenthood roughly $500 million a year. This represents about 40 percent of PP’s revenue. So where does that money go? Before you stand up in the back and shout “Abortion!!!” I am going to throw out a piece of legislation word for word.

“The Secretary shall not provide any assistance under this title to an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of such assistance, the entity will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion.” – Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act

So, if the state isn’t funding the abortions, where is the money going? According to the annual report on Planned Parenthood’s page, 64 percent of the expenses are for medical services. These medical services include contraception, STD testing and treatment, cancer screening, abortions and women’s health services. If you would like to learn more about how Planned Parenthood operates financially, I recommend visiting their homepage.

Ok, so now you have a pretty basic knowledge of what Planned Parenthood is in a nutshell. Now, why do we need it?

In Iowa, there are nine Planned Parenthood locations. All of them are located in cities such as Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls and Burlington. This means they are able to serve a large population effectively. More specifically, they can reach the low-income population better. You can go and get a STI/STD test at your local clinic or hospital, but it is not only expensive, it will show up on your permanent health record. Because it goes on your record, if you use your insurance then it may impact your future insurance rates. Planned Parenthood does testing for around $130 and some treatment options are free. They offer discounts for teens under 18 in some states and you can use insurance at most locations. The cost effectiveness is important because nobody wants to pay for an overpriced test that might turn out to be negative. This could cause people to wait too long and the disease becomes an emergency or they give it to someone else. In short, if you want chlamydia, de-fund PP.

Knowledge is power in so many ways. This is why people go to college, attend professional development classes or learn a trade. The more you know, the better off you are. Education is another big service Planned Parenthood provides. They do this through community outreach and fundraising. Regardless of your beliefs or morals, people are having sex and the facts show preaching abstinence doesn’t work. Planned Parenthood looks to educate people on practicing safe sex and not necessarily encourage them to have sex. So if you want teen pregnancy, de-fund Planned Parenthood.

These are only two of what I believe to be the biggest benefits of Planned Parenthood. There are so many benefits including empowering women, privacy, and cancer screening. I encourage you to do some investigation yourself. If you take anything away from this article, it needs to be this: you can continue to fight abortion while supporting Planned Parenthood.