The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
I am a feminist. I believe that a woman has the right to decide what she does with her body. I believe that women should have easy access to the various forms of birth control that exist. I believe in the importance of sex education. I believe in all human rights. I believe that everyone deserves a chance to be well educated, to make their own decisions and to have the best that can be given to them. I believe that a human life is precious. It is because of these beliefs that I am pro-life.
And it is because of these beliefs that I am pro-Planned Parenthood.
Saying that a woman has the right to decide what she does with her body is often an argument made for the pro-choice side. However, this statement has many levels. A woman should not be judged for choosing to use birth control. A woman should not be viewed as an object that has to look, act or dress a certain way. That is why I say a woman has a right to decide what she does with her own body. However, as pro-life, I draw the line when those decisions affect another existing human’s life. To me, abortion takes away the right to life that the baby has. Despite being pro-life, I am still pro-Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood is about more than abortions. In fact, according to their 2013-2014 annual report, only 3 percent of all services provided by Planned Parenthood are abortions. The Washington Post confirmed that that percentage is 327,653 abortions out of 10.6 million services. That is a large number of abortions, but it is a small fraction in comparison to all other services Planned Parenthood provides.
Planned Parenthood is a health care provider, educator, and human rights advocate. They focus mainly on reproductive healthcare and women’s healthcare. Planned Parenthood provides cancer screening and prevention such as pap tests and breast exams, STD/STI testing such as HIV tests and STI treatment, contraception, adoption referrals, family practice services and other women’s health services such as pregnancy tests and prenatal services. These other services are crucial, as not all women have access to them except through Planned Parenthood. Defunding Planned Parenthood would have many negative effects, especially on low-income women. One could say that many abortions are able to be avoided because of the services Planned Parenthood provides. Without Planned Parenthood, many women would have no access to birth control. Without Planned Parenthood, there would be less access to sex education. Without Planned Parenthood, there would be few to no options for prenatal care for low-income women or women in difficult circumstances, such as a pregnant, struggling teenage girl.
It should also be noted that defunding Planned Parenthood will not end all abortions; it will end safe abortions. Planned Parenthood abortions are in-clinic procedures performed in a safe environment. These procedures are often cheaper than procedures done in hospitals, which allows low-income women to still have a safe abortion. Of course, most pro-life individuals, such as myself, would prefer adoption to be the first answer to an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy. Planned Parenthood can provide the necessary prenatal care for needed for a woman to have a safe pregnancy. The second option for an unplanned pregnancy is parenting. As mentioned previously, Planned Parenthood can provide the necessary prenatal care which is an extremely important service for single mothers. They can also provide certain helpful services through their Family Planning Benefit Program that care for families and women planning on having children.
Defunding Planned Parenthood is not the answer to ending abortion. Focusing on sex education, easy access to contraceptives, and women’s healthcare is an answer to decreasing abortion. Making abortion illegal could be an answer to ending abortion, especially if other safe and welcoming options—like the ones provided by Planned Parenthood—are available to women with unwanted pregnancies. This is a difficult and sensitive subject. One must remember that there are real humans who are being impacted by the hateful things both the pro-life side and the pro-choice side are saying. Unwanted pregnancy is one of the most life-changing and difficult things a woman can go through, and there is truly no easy or simple answer or solution. Every woman and every circumstance is different.