Reasons Why Planned Parenthood Should Remain Funded

Reasons Why Planned Parenthood Should Remain Funded

Margaret Sanger opened her first clinic, which would later be known as Planned Parenthood, in the early 20th century with the controversial mission of distributing birth control and safe sex knowledge to women throughout the United States. Although she started off small, Sanger eventually succeeded in changing the law to make the distribution of birth control legal with a prescription and began the revolutionary shift in public opinion on contraception.[1] Planned Parenthood now provides birth control, family planning advice, abortions, cancer screenings and care for sexually transmitted diseases, among many more services. Sanger laid the necessary foundation for women’s reproductive health in the United States that current lawmakers are trying to crack open like a piggy bank by de-funding Planned Parenthood’s federal funds. While it saddens me that I need to justify why Planned Parenthood deserves federal funding, here are 5 reasons why Planned Parenthood should not be de-funded:

1. Planned Parenthood provides birth control, family planning advice, and abortions to people who could otherwise not afford it. By doing so, they help to prevent unwanted births in families that could not afford to raise a child or simply are not ready for a child. In both scenarios, Planned Parenthood prevents children from being born into homes that would struggle to provide a healthy environment for a child. 

2. Planned Parenthood teaches women and men how to have safe sex, which contributes to an overall healthier society with fewer sexually transmitted diseases. This lowers medical costs and contributes to a better quality of life for people who might otherwise have contracted diseases that necessitate expensive medications. Not to mention the fact that Planned Parenthood actually provides treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, alleviating much of the financial burden that diseased people might face.

3. The access to birth control and abortions that Planned Parenthood provides permits women to choose exactly when they want to have a child. This ability to plan pregnancies helps women complete their education and secure better paying jobs, ultimately increasing their future financial stability.

4. Planned Parenthood makes financial stability easier for struggling families. Where a family might have to choose between birth control, cancer screenings or necessities such as food, Planned Parenthood essentially puts money back in that family’s pocket. Mothers no longer have to choose between their health and spending the money elsewhere; they can have both. As a result, families gain financial stability.

5. Federal funding doesn’t go towards abortions! Many people oppose Planned Parenthood because they don’t believe federal funds should go towards abortions, usually because it conflicts with thier religious views. However, what most people don’t know is that federal funding actually legally cannot go towards abortions due to the Hyde Amendment of 1977. If a Planned Parenthood location wants to provide abortions, it must get funding from a non-Medicaid source. This particular fact discounts many religious rejections to Planned Parenthood’s funding.