Planned Parenthood budget woes
By Claire Cudahy
A recent budget bill pushed through the House included, most notably, the defunding of Planned Parenthood, stoking the fire of debate over this ever-controversial organization. Though the bill is unlikely to pass unaltered, it will nevertheless take a toll on the programs proposed for budget cuts.
Among the cuts planned by the House is the elimination of Title X, the federal family planning program for low-income women. Title X provides birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, an authority on sexual and reproductive health, contraceptive services at Title X helped avoid 973,000 unintended pregnancies that would have resulted in 433,000 unplanned births and 406,000 abortions. Without the services of Title X, unintended pregnancies and abortions in the United States would be one-third higher.
The House resolution would cut support for international family planning and reproductive care, forbidding federal money to any group that even discusses abortion.
"Some consider the Pence Amendment a ‘war on Planned Parenthood,' but this is not about Planned Parenthood's right to be in the abortion business," said Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana. "Sadly, abortion on demand is legal in America. This debate is about who pays for it."
The bill's defenders stick strongly to two important words: taxpayers and abortion — two words that ruffle the feathers of many a Republican.
"According to their latest annual report, Planned Parenthood received more than $363 million in taxpayer dollars, while also boasting of performing an unprecedented 324,008 abortions," continued Pence.
Planned Parenthood serves one in five American women at some point in their lifetime. While Planned Parenthood does offer abortions, it also gives many women the opportunities and means to have their baby in a healthy way.
In a letter to the Editor of the New York Times, Dolores Geisman reflected on her own mother's relationship with Planned Parenthood: "From Planned Parenthood, my mother received the health care she needed along with the birth control advice she was seeking. Because of this organization, she never had to consider an abortion."
"Legislators like Representative Mike Pence of Indiana who complain about the reach of government into our lives seem to have little trouble interfering in the most personal way when it comes to women's health care," she wrote.
How right she is. The G.O.P. bill would cut the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children by 10 percent, which currently serves 9.6 million low-income women and infants every month. Moreover, $50 million would be cut from the block grant supporting programs offering prenatal health care to 2.5 million low-income women along with health care for 31 million children each year.
President Obama's budget plan for next year proposes a much more reasonable cut.
Facebook is abuzz with a predominately younger generation's response to this bill.
One such group, Stand with Planned Parenthood (Supporter Created), boasts more than 250,000 Facebook members. Supporters upload photos of themselves with signs saying, "I Stand with Planned Parenthood."
Planned Parenthood is often overshadowed by the greater debate of abortion being right or wrong. But this is not that debate.
It is about the health care and support this organization provides to women and couples who do not have the means to do so for themselves.
It is about a safe place where women can go when they do not have the support they need.
This is a pivotal moment for women's reproductive rights and health care. Show your support by writing a letter to your congressional leader or go online to http://standwithplannedparenthood.com to sign an open letter to Congress.
Claire Cudahy is a junior English major.