*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Her Campus or Penn State University.
If you have turned on the news, opened a newspaper, or even scrolled down Facebook over the past month, you most likely know that Planned Parenthood has been quite the topic of discussion across the United States. For those of you who do not know what Planned Parenthood is, and what all the talk is about, I am here to tell you.
To put it in simple terms, Planned Parenthood is reproductive healthcare and also serves as a reproductive education source for both women and men. Think it sounds like a relatively useful health tool? It can be, but there is currently a huge controversy surrounding the organization. As many know, abortions are an extremely touchy subject in our society, and Planned Parenthood is an organization that does perform them.
Planned Parenthood receives government funding and that has proven to be rather problematic to some. According to NPR, Planned Parenthood receives around $500 million a year from the government. With abortion being one of the leading reasons for controversy, pro-life supporters are working to defund Planned Parenthood in hopes of shutting down the clinics.
On October 21, 2015, the Ohio Senate voted to defund Planned Parenthood, which is what prompted me to write this article.
I support Planned Parenthood.
Upon finding out that my neighboring state voted to defund this organization, it was hard for me to not be upset by the notion because I understand the valuable services that it provides outside of abortion.
I support Planned Parenthood because, in my eyes, it is so much more than an abortion clinic. For many low income women (and men), this organization is a very vital resource to their health. This organization, for some, is the only way to obtain birth control. In many cases, especially in younger girls, women are placed on birth control, not because they are planning on being or becoming sexually active, but because they have extremely painful periods or get them multiple times a month (which can lead to increased blood loss and anemia). Birth control helps to regulate and make this completely normal health-related event more bearable for women.
Yes, Planned Parenthood has the services to perform abortions, but government dollars do not contribute to these services. In other words, Planned Parenthood does not spend government money on abortions. (The only instances in which the government will cover these services is when it comes to very extreme cases such as rape, incest, or a situation where the mother’s life is put in danger.)
According to NPR, abortion services only take up about 3% of the services performed by Planned Parenthood, with STD/STI testing being the leading service (quickly followed by contraceptives) provided by the organization.
While I am a supporter of Planned Parenthood, I am trying to stay as unbiased as possible when writing this or discussing it with my peers. That being said, recently, there has been a story circulating that has added to the Planned Parenthood controversy, that states that the organization has been selling aborted fetus body parts. I took the time to look into this claim. As a public relations student and someone who studies the media greatly, I have realized that these stories have been published on web platforms that are covered with advertisements supporting catholicism, pro-life organizations and other groups that promote prayer. While one’s religion does not always point to a political stance, the fact that these websites are clearly biased in one direction shows that the information could be more subjective than one might think.
A huge problem with this accusation is that the websites are not necessarily credible. I tend to try to look into the validity of a source before I determine whether or not I think it is true.
The truth, according to CNN, is that Planned Parenthood was reimbursed for donations of fetal tissue, which was being used for research. Due to recent controversy, they have since stopped accepting these reimbursements altogether.
That being said, in my eyes, Planned Parenthood is still an extremely valuable source for women, and men (it also provides men’s health clinics). It should be a basic right that women have accessibility to this program, which not only helps to maintain a woman’s sexual and reproductive health, but also a woman’s mental health, which can be just as important as the others.
As a woman, I cannot help but feel as if the movement to defund Planned Parenthood is just another way that allows other people the authority to tell me what I should do with my body. My opinions, like my body, are my own. So many people seem to forget that Planned Parenthood is so much more than abortions. Planned Parenthood can be an extremely vital key to women’s health, especially for those of low income backgrounds. Denying women their health is just another step back instead of the vital steps forward that we, as a society, need to be taking.
Sources:
NPR, Fast Check: How Does Planned Parenthood Spend That Government Money?
CNN, The Real Story Behind Those Planned Parenthood Videos?
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