Many people are aware of the current debate that is going on about Planned Parenthood whether it should be funded or not. Most people think that Planned Parenthood is just for abortions, in reality, Planned Parenthood provides millions with healthcare. I personally believe that Planned Parenthood should stay funded. If not than millions of people will be without healthcare.
Planned Parenthood is actually the nation’s leading healthcare provider. Providing 2.4 million people a year(Planned Parenthood). Planned Parenthood provides millions of people with std testing, birth control, and breast cancer exams for to name a few. The majority of the people that go to Planned Parenthood live in low-income urban areas.
Some of Planned Parenthood patients are on Medicaid or Title X (both public health care programs). By defunding Planned Parenthood we would be taking away Planned Parenthood services from those on public health care programs(Planned Parenthood). Though it is a common thought that a lot of government spending goes to public health care programs when only 5% of the government budget goes to public health care program, while 54% goes to military spending (Hyde).
A misconception about Planned Parenthood is that it is the main service is abortions. Surprisingly enough only ⅓ of those that get abortions go to Planned Parenthood while the other ⅔ go to other healthcare providers, that’s less than 50%(Chapman). In fact, out of all the services, Planned Parenthood provides only 3% of those services are abortions(Chapman). So, as you can see Planned Parenthood is not just for abortions.
Though many people do not want planned parenthood funded because of their stance of pro-life or pro-choice. Others bring up the topic of that taxpayer’s money goes to planned parenthood, so those who are pro-life do not like the idea of their money going to abortions. Though their money is not being spent on abortion because Planned Parenthood is not allowed to spend taxpayers money on abortions.
Another good thing Planned Parenthood does is provide women and men that live in poor urban areas with common health care services anyone should be able to get. If you take a look at Texas it will show you what might happen in America if you defund Planned Parenthood. Texas defunded in 2013 since then there was a 27% increase in birth rates (Culp-Ressler). Now, this is not just because abortions were not available but because women were not able to get simple medication such as birth control. Birth control is not just used for as ant-contraceptive it can also be used to help those with Anemia that way they are able to keep as much blood as they can.
Planned Parenthood provides many good services for everyone. Planned Parenthood provides healthcare to those who would not be able to have any health care otherwise. Though people think that Planned Parenthood is just for abortions, you are now informed that Planned Parenthood provides many other simple healthcare services to millions. By defunding Planned Parenthood the government would be taking away healthcare to millions of people that deserve to have healthcare. Hopefully, after reading this you are able to see all the positives effects of funding Planned Parenthood.
Work Cited
Chapman, Alexis. “Defunding Planned Parenthood Is A Bad Plan.” Political Storm, 2 June 2017, www.politicalstorm.com/defunding-planned-parenthood-bad-plan/.
Culp-Ressler, Tara. “The Consequences Of Defunding Planned Parenthood.” ThinkProgress, 4 Feb. 2016, thinkprogress.org/the-consequences-of-defunding-planned-parenthood-746f118331e9/.
Parenthood, Planned. “‘Defunding’ Planned Parenthood Defined.” Planned Parenthood Action Fund, www.istandwithpp.org/defund-defined.
Carelis,
I really liked your post about planned parenthood. This is a very crazy debate in todays day and age. I go to a Catholic School and the Church doesn’t believe in abortion and contreception. I disagree with that statment. I think that everyone has a right to contreception and abortion. I really liked your article. I never knew everything that Planned parenthood.
Maggie
Carelis,
I absolutely agree with your stance on Planned Parenthood, and I’m so happy you addressed the other health concerns that the organization dealt with, not only for women, but also for families. I feel it necessary, however, to play devil’s advocate, seeing as that’s a very popular thing to do in the society we live in today. I Planned Parenthood were defunded, do you imagine that absolutely no one in the country would take on the responsibility of helping to privately fund the organization? America is historically a very selfless, loving, generous country and often times gives back to its own people. Even today, Planned Parenthood is run primarily by donations. You did mention that one facility of Planned Parenthood was defunded in Texas, but my question is, where was that town? What use was that Planned Parenthood getting? What is the education level of that town? How many people were aware of that being defunded? If this were to be a universal occurrence, there are some people that have confidence in the fact that people like Mila Kunis, who donates $100 a month, will be able to uphold the organization. Again, I completely agree with your stance, but there is always an argument for the other side.
Carelis,
I think it is amazing how much Planned Parenthood does for our country. I agree with you and think that this organization should stay funded simply due to the fact that it provides 2.4 million people with healthcare. That statistic is crazy. I also think it is good to know the other services that Planned Parenthood offers, and how it impacts so many lives. They have even took a stand for healthcare no matter your race or gender. And I think by defunding a company that does so much good could ruin a lot of things for healthcare with the female population throughout America. I found an article thought planned parenthood, https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/18/40/1840b04b-55d3-4c00-959d-11817023ffc8/20170526_annualreport_p02_singles.pdf that stated they did 615,499 Pap tests and breast evaluations, 2,808,815 birth control delivered, and 4,266,689 tests and treatments for STD’s. I think that this company is saving a lot of peoples lives, and money when people can’t afford it. And I think America can’t afford to take away the funding to Planned Parenthood. I am glad that you wrote this article, because I feel people need to be more educated on this topic especially with it being such a big controversy in our country right now. I hope you continue to write more about this, because I think you have a good way of voicing your opinion.
This a such a relevant topic right now, and something you could have highlighted was the stance religions have. Belief systems, like Catholicism, are very active in promoting pro life rather than pro choice. The Catholic Church does not believe in abortion, and they also do not believe in using any type of contraceptive. One of the Catholic Social teachings is, each person has a right to life and human dignity because they are made in the image of God. The Church believes there should always be an opportunity for life, which is why the Church does not support abortions, birth control, or premarital sex. Being one of the five major religions in the world, I just thought that placing an argument against these traditional theological ideas could have made your argument even more persuasive.
Carelis,
This is a red hot debate these days and I’m glad you spoke your opinion. I liked how you stressed the importance of planned parenthood. I agree that is has a lot more function than an abortion clinic. It provides healthcare, as you stated, to millions of Americans. In addition, it provides important sexual education, a topic that is often skimped on in public schools. https://2016election.procon.org/view.answers.election.php?questionID=002064
Here is a link to a debate on planned parenthood, so if you want to expand your knowledge on the issue, a good idea would be to look at the other side’s argument.
Carelis,
I had no idea that Planned Parenthood did so much for people. Being a teenage guy hasn’t presented me with any need to go to Planned Parenthood. I think it is really cool what they do for people and I’m sure that not many people really understand what they do like I just learned. I am now in support for funding Planned Parenthood since I have learned more about it. Thank you for making this post and this is the sort of thing people need to learn about.