In light of recent propaganda videos being released that purportedly show Planned Parenthood executives and allies discussing the sale of harvested fetal tissue, the organization has garnered a lot of media attention. Because of the controversial nature of these videos, the age old debate of whether Planned Parenthood should be publically funded by the government has been kicked up once more, but this time, the organization faces a real danger. With a predominantly Republican, and therefore pro-life, Congress, there is a serious possibility that Planned Parenthood may get defunded.
The issue here is, Planned Parenthood offers a variety of services besides abortions; in fact, 97% of services offered by the organization are not related to abortion at all; and of the 3% involving abortion services, only cases of specific circumstance, including rape and maternal health risk, are funded by the federal government. Most federal funding for Planned Parenthood is dedicated to providing access to contraception and family planning. The majority of abortion services offered by Planned Parenthood are privately funded, meaning the government has nothing to do with them.
If Planned Parenthood gets defunded, countless men and women will lose access to much needed health services, including prenatal care, cancer screenings, contraceptives, and gynecologic exams. Defunding Planned Parenthood will also halt embryonic stem cell research that is used to develop cures for several diseases, from Alzheimer’s to muscular dystrophy. While these amazing services are all at risk, Republicans and pro-life activists are having trouble seeing past the 3%.
GOP candidates like Carly Fiorina and Jeb Bush have publicly voiced their contempt for the organization, with Fiorina specifically citing horrific images of fetuses from the “leaked” video as a motivation for her anger. The problem with that is, these images are not real. David Daleiden, the creator of the videos, explicitly stated that images of a 19 week-old fetus were merely taken from the Internet to “illustrate” the condition these fetuses are in when aborted. The actual photo, taken from the Facebook page of a woman who posted it in tribute to her stillborn son, was not the product of an abortion at all. Other graphic footage of a dying fetus lying on a medical table was taken from the archive of the Center for Biological Reform, which has not been able to release any source of the photograph. Daleiden, when asked about the footage, admitted that he doesn’t know when or where the abortion was performed, and that there is no evidence to suggest the procedure even occurred in a Planned Parenthood facility.
Last week, the Republican-dominated Senate passed a bill that, if signed by the President, would repeal Obamacare and subsequently defund Planned Parenthood entirely. The organization has fought back, refusing to bow down to the threat, and launched several social media campaigns to gain support. For example, Twitter users can tweet the hashtag #StandwithPP and apply a pink filter with the organization’s logo to their profile icons. Along with social media action, Planned Parenthood’s president, Cecile Richards, and other advocates have publicly condemned the videos, citing them as “heavily edited” and “misleading.”
So why should you care? Easy: if Planned Parenthood gets defunded, you lose the opportunity for free, confidential health care. Planned Parenthood provides young people with breast exams, prostate exams, birth control, STD testing, and countless other services that are necessary to proper health. So what can you do to help? That’s even easier: go out and vote. If your campus is hosting a protest or collecting donations for the organization, then participate. With Planned Parenthood in this much danger, every action counts, no matter how small it may seem.