With the recent efforts of Republicans to block federal funds from reaching women’s health care providers, namely Planned Parenthood, there has been a purposeful disregard for the services that these providers actually offer.
The crux of the issue has largely been over the abortion services offered by sources such as Planned Parenthood, even though a mere three percent of Planned Parenthood’s services are directed towards abortion.
President Trump, in tandem with a Republican-majority Congress, signed legislation this month that rolls back an Obama-era rule meant to protect family planning providers from states looking to defund them. The Obama rule said that states could not withhold or vote to defund federal Title X monies from reaching organizations that provide things like abortion, among their other services.
With the repeal of Obama’s ruling, states can now effectively prevent providers like Planned Parenthood from receiving funds associated with the Title X family planning program, which had originally been founded to ensure a broad range of access to low-income or uninsured individuals.
The determination to defund Planned Parenthood entirely is certainly a mission conservatives will continue to slash away at. And since this issue does not look to be leaving our political discussion anytime soon, it is rather necessary to examine the actual services provided by an organization that has been so demonized by the right.
In the United States alone, Planned Parenthood operates nearly 650 health centers, offering a vast array of services for nearly three million people in our country annually. The organization provides reproductive health care, comprehensive sex education, and support globally to groups with similar objectives. On the local level, Planned Parenthood strives to offer care based on the diversity of the communities it serves.
The Akron Beacon Journal has reported that in 2016, over 7,000 people received health services from Akron’s Planned Parenthood clinic, with none receiving abortions there. The Akron clinic, situated on West Exchange Street, does not perform abortions, but does direct patients to clinics within the organization that will provide the service. The state of Ohio currently comprises of 27 Planned Parenthood clinics total, only three of which perform abortion services for the state of over 11 million residents.
The Beacon Journal also found that of the 24 clinics not providing abortion, there is a primary focus on offering birth control care, cancer screenings, and testing for things like HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy. They reported that almost two-thirds of Akron patients were living below the poverty line, and more than three-quarters were under the age of 35.
Spokeswoman Jocelyn Smallwood commented that, “A lot of the people who rely on [our services] live in low-income or rural areas, where there might not be another clinic nearby. A lot of these people don’t have anyone else to turn to.”
As we see the majority party in Congress strip away health care access to millions of people, specifically women, it is increasingly important to bring large, national issues back down to the local level. The single Planned Parenthood clinic in Akron not only provides health services to the residents of our community, but it likely also saves their very lives. If you have never had to worry about your personal access to health care or had to fear seeking help because you lack insurance, then count yourself fortunate. For many people within neighborhoods and regions across the country, the reality of depending on services like those provided by Planned Parenthood are vital to everyday life. To cut one’s access to control over their own life and body is not only dangerous, but is also the first step in keeping someone from pursuing the opportunities the future may hold for them. The next time you hear someone advocate for the defunding of organizations like Planned Parenthood, kindly remind of what it is they are willing to sacrifice of their communities in order to reach that end.