McKelle Burk

Position Paper Planned Parenthood

Knock it off, we need Planned Parenthood!

For many people, hearing the name Planned Parenthood conjures images of pregnant
teenagers in dismal waiting rooms preparing to receive abortions. A common misconception is
that this is one of the only services that they provide. Planned Parenthood, to me, indicates
exactly what the name describes: planning for parenthood. That could involve anything from
preventing an unwanted pregnancy to getting the treatment necessary to have a healthy
reproductive system, making parenthood possible later in life. More than 150 Planned
Parenthood protesters gathered on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 1 st in an attempt to
prove this point. Many were there simply to share their own Planned Parenthood experiences
in an attempt to persuade lawmakers that the services provided are necessary and life
changing. These demonstrators are concerned because of a leaked draft of the Republican
plan to repeal with Affordable Care Act which includes a provision to prevent prohibited
entities, AKA abortion providers, from being able to accept Medicaid. Any current Planned
Parenthood patients who are on Medicaid would have to find a new provider. It is worth noting
that Medicaid, as well as any other federal dollars, cannot be used to cover abortion services
under the Hyde Amendment. This amendment has been in effect for more than 40 years. This
provision would effectively cut out 43% of Planned Parenthood's fiscal budget according to
Joshua Gillin, a writer and researcher for Gale's Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Despite
one's personal beliefs regarding abortion, Planned Parenthood is important in our nation.
They provide vital, sometimes life saving, services to the uninsured, under-insured, and low-
income people in our communities.
So why is the Republican party, as well as many Americans, set on removing all federal
funding from Planned Parenthood? When interviewed, protesters often state a pro-life stance.
They believe that because the organization provides elective abortion services, or kills
babies, they should be shut down. What many of those people fail to recognize, is that
abortion makes up a mere 3% of their services. In addition to abortion, Planned Parenthood
helps many women get the treatments they need. Jamie Benner, one Capitol Hill
demonstrator who shared her story with Mother Jones, a nonprofit news organization, went to
Planned Parenthood because of a
lump found in her breast. She was
uninsured and the providers at
Planned Parenthood helped her
get testing and Medicaid coverage
that ultimately saved her life. Her
breast cancer was almost stage 4
and would have been extremely
difficult to treat. She says, had
Planned Parenthood waiting a day,
I wouldn't be here. Another
demonstrator, Courtney Everette,
traveled from Chicago to share her
story with lawmakers. Everette was
no longer covered by her parent's
insurance due to age and was not
able to afford the hormonal birth Illustration 1: Photo Credit: Sarah Mirk; February 21, 2011
control needed to manage her endometriosis. Planned Parenthood helped her get access to
affordable birth control to manage her condition. Without proper management, she would not
have been able to conceive her two children.
It has been argued that the services provided by Planned Parenthood that are not
abortion could be handled by local Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and rural
health clinics. Additionally, it has been stated that the money going to Planned Parenthood
could be redirected to these facilities, increasing their effectiveness. Speaker of the House
Paul Ryan was quoted as saying, By putting these dollars in the federal community health
centers, which provide the same kinds of services for every Planned Parenthood, there are
20 federal community health centers. They're vastly bigger in network, there are so many
more of them, and they provide these kinds of services without all of the controversy
surrounding this [abortion] issue. This argument, on the surface, seems valid to pro-life
believers. If funds could be diverted into FQHC facilities and rural health clinics then what
need is there for Planned Parenthood? According to Michelle Ye Hee Lee, another writer and
researcher for Gale, the major problem in this argument lies with rural health centers. While
FQHC facilities are required to provide care regardless of a patients ability to repay. They
must offer sliding-scale fees that allow low-income families to get the treatments they need.
They are also required to offer family planning services. Rural health clinics, on the other
hand, do not have any of these requirements. This may cause patients who were previously
treated my Planned Parenthood to go untreated. FQHC facilities also provide a number of
other services including dental and behavioral health. Money that is currently going to
Planned Parenthood that is directly funding healthcare could instead be spread out to try to
cover many services, ultimately leaving less money going directly to healthcare. While the
point must be conceded that funding could be redirected to FQHC facilities and ultimately be
as far reaching as Planned Parenthood, it is unclear at this time whether FQHC facilities and
rural health clinics could even absorb the workload of Planned Parenthood. There are simply
too many unknown factors. Even if the workload could potentially be absorbed by other
facilities in the future, it would cause an immediate disruption to current patients who would
be left without a provider. It is estimated that somewhere between 5-25% of patients would
face reduced access to care. Even on the low end of the estimation, if even 5% of patients no
longer have access to healthcare, it is worth supporting and funding Planned Parenthood.
Students at San Jose University who are part of the Students for Life club have
expressed similar views to Senator Ryan's. The club ran a booth on their campus in February
trying to spread awareness of the possible defunding of Planned Parenthood and the other
options that are available. They argue that the reason people remain unaware of FQHC
facilities and rural health clinics is because Planned Parenthood spends money on advertising
where those facilities do not. The former President of the club, Cali Ferrari, stated that,
Obviously if you can spend 4.4 million on advertising people are going to know your name,
but these FQHC aren't spending that much money on advertising and that's why people don't
know about them as much. Another group of San Jose students has a vastly different opinion
on the matter. Thousands of people gathered to show their support of the San Jose Planned
Parenthood the same week that the Students for Life club was running their booth.
It seems that despite the possibility of having other options, women want Planned
Parenthood to continue receiving funding. Whenever a defunding threat is made,
communities rally together to show their support and love for Planned Parenthood. People
don't want their choices to be limited and, ultimately, they deserve to have those choices.
Imagine a world in which all pregnancies out of wedlock were forcibly terminated. There
would be outrage. No one wants to have their choices taken away. Aside from abortion
services Planned Parenthood provides education to those who do not have other resources
or simply are afraid to reach out to their parents or administrators. They provide STD testing
and treatment to those who do not have a primary care physician, cannot afford to go to a
different clinic, or do not have insurance. Planned Parenthood represents having a choice to
so many people. Those people deserve that choice, and Planned Parenthood deserves
funding.