Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that provides reproductive health services; women that need birth control, an abortion, sex education, aids, etc. The federal and state government provided a lot of funding for low income women and opponents of funding argue that the government should not fund any organizations that provide abortions. Planned Parenthood believes in the right of everyone to manage his or her fertility, regardless of the individual’s income, marital status, race, ethnicity, etc. They believe that the reproductive self-determination must be voluntary. Planned Parenthood is important because it is the primary source of health care for many patients, it is care to primarily low income and underserved communities and it plays a role in tackling health disparities. On July 14, 2015, the Center for Medical Progress released the first series of videos depicting Planned Parenthood profiting from donation of fetal tissue. Despite being declared deceptive, the videos provided a platform for pro-life advocates to call for the investigation and subsequent defunding of Planned Parenthood, which currently receives more than $500 million dollars from the federal government annually. Planned Parenthood faces the daunting task of winning the battle for public opinion.
Every year, politicians try to restrict access to contraception, abortion and comprehensive sex education. Nearly 5 million women, men and adolescents worldwide get reproductive care or se education. Not all children grow up in homes where parents are willing to provide accurate sexual health information to their children, let alone attend schools where it’s taught. Planned Parenthood is fighting for abortion access, birth control and health care equity. A lot of controversy is occurring about abortion access because many people believe that is what Planned Parenthood is about. Abortion plays an important aspect on why they are trying to defund this organization but abortion only occurs 3% of the time compared to everything else. The public needs to realize that abortion can and should occur if it is a teen pregnancy or if the person got raped.
Everyone in the community should notice the helpful Planned Parenthood could be for families. Even though they do perform abortions, that is not the focus of it. They help ensure healthy pregnancies, prevent unwanted pregnancies, provide essential women’s health exams, etc. and many may say that, that can be provided elsewhere, but people are forgetting that there are many families who are low income and cannot afford it. All women including and especially those who lack means and access, deserve a chance at all the outcomes Planned Parenthood provides, without fear of verbal or physical attacks.
To protect access to health care, you can donate money to this non-profit organization to ensure and provide medical needs for the patients. Also, if you are a patient of Planned Parenthood, you could share your story on their main website. This can be very helpful to all politicians in regards to convincing that Planned Parenthood is more than just abortions. You can also be a defender which is a core group of supporters who give their time to defend Planned Parenthood.
