Planned Parenthood

Modern day America is filled to the brim with political controversy. One subject that never fails to elicit debate is the topic of public health care surrounding the Planned Parenthood Federation of America; the American nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care to the public.

When looking at a subject as widely discussed as women’s reproductive health care services, an unbiased analysis of the Planned Parenthood organization is crucial. As you may know, while many support and favor the services provided by Planned Parenthood, just as many oppose. Those who are critical of the organization identify as being “pro-life,” meaning they have an anti-abortion stance. Their main reason to protest Planned Parenthood — as stated on the pro-life website under the hashtag “#ProtestPP”— is the fact that it’s the nation’s largest abortion chain providing roughly 324,000 abortions annually.

The beginning of Planned Parenthood stems from Margaret Sanger’s birth control clinic which opened in 1916 in Brooklyn, New York. Soon after, Sanger founded the American Birth Control League in 1921, which later changed its title to Planned Parenthood in 1942. Today they operate over 650 health clinics around the country, and partner with organizations located in 12 other countries.

To fully understand the outreach that Planned Parenthood has, I looked to their most recent annual report detailing the fiscal year ending in June 2016. From 2015 to 2016 Planned Parenthood performed 9.5 million health care services ranging from tests and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases, breast and cervical exams, abortion procedures, and birth control related services. Self-published total expenses for this time period were estimated at $1.27 billion. Their total revenue is reported to be $1.35 billion where 41% comes from government health service reimbursements and grants, 33% from private contributions, and 23% from non-government health services revenue. However, as mentioned before, not all are in favor of the services provided by Planned Parenthood.
A popular anti-Planned Parenthood website is STOPP. At first glance, you can pick up on the group’s religious ideologies where you see a cross within its logo, many biblical references throughout its home page, and an article headline claiming that Planned Parenthood is “hooking kids on sex.” STOPP being the very first anti-abortion website to appear after searching the phrase “anti planned parenthood” validates the notion that religious individuals, in particular those who identify as Christian, make up an extremely large percentage of those who actively stand against Planned Parenthood.

Many argue that while Planned Parenthood doesn’t directly use their federal funding for abortions, those funds pay for other expenses which salary their employers, pay for medical equipment, and essentially keep the organization in operation. In 2015 there was an explosion of controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood when an executive was accused of “the illegal sale of aborted baby parts.” In truth, no credible evidence was ever found that Planned Parenthood profited from any donation of fetal tissue. Regardless, the claim still caused a huge media debate on the ethicality of Planned Parenthood as a whole.

Pro-life activist David Daleiden admitted that he had been trying to “entrap” Planned Parenthood for three years during undercover operations where he attempted to purchase aborted fetal tissues. When the President of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richard, was asked to comment on Daleiden she stated that throughout his efforts he “failed to succeed in convincing even a single affiliate to enter into a procurement contract.” Meaning that no affiliate had ever agreed to sell him aborted fetuses and then attempt to go through with the deal.

In a Planned Parenthood article from The Hill — a political website which claims to be center-biased — the primary motive of the pro-life movement is clarified stating that, “The bottom line is that pro-lifers know that if Planned Parenthood is defunded, it would be the beginning of the end of
the abortion industry.” And although disapproval of Planned Parenthood certainly exists, opposition predominantly stems from those with an anti-abortion stance, who typically are politically conservative and strong in religious beliefs. Their protests focus upon the fact that Planned Parenthood provides abortions, while other health care services provided are deemed irrelevant. And while those who choose to protest abortion may have legitimate personal reason for their opposition, their actions toward Planned Parenthood are undeniably detrimental to women whose health care concerns often fall unrelated to abortions.

Those who speak out in support of Planned Parenthood often come from a perspective which prioritizes women’s rights and reproductive health care. In an article from CNN, protection of Planned Parenthood is supported by stating that 90% of care provided by Planned Parenthood is preventative; these services include annual exams, health counseling, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, cancer screenings, and birth control. CNN also points out that “for many women — especially those who are low-income — Planned Parenthood is the only source of health care.” The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities states that defunding Planned Parenthood would have “devastating effects.” They then point out that “three-quarters of [patients] have incomes below 150 percent of the poverty line.”
We could get a grasp on the effects of eliminating Planned Parenthood when Texas removed it from their state family planning program in 2013. This resulted in a 35% of women using long-term contraception, as well as a 27% increase of births in women who had previously been using contraception.

Support of Planned Parenthood from an economic standpoint is also very common. An article from The Atlantic argues that there are an abundance of economic reasons to support Planned Parenthood, stating that “access to family planning has increased women’s labor-force participation, improved their and their family’s economic security, and has multi- generational health and economic benefits.” In fact, the 2015 Congressional Budget Office estimated that defunding Planned Parenthood would raise government spending over the following ten years by $130 million.

Overall, those who support Planned Parenthood most often do so from a “women’s rights” or economic perspective. They are likely to be politically liberal, hold progressive views, and not have strong personal convictions stemming from religion. They believe that a woman’s right to reproductive health care is paramount. Those in favor of Planned Parenthood have indisputable reason to support the organization because of the many humanitarian and economic benefits of its services.

Planned Parenthood is an organization which, simply stated, provides reproductive health care services. Along with countless women around the world, I believe that every woman, including myself, should have the right to choose what is best for them based upon their own happiness. I have compassion for those in need of reliable health care; the question of
whether or not an abortion is involved falls irrelevant. A minority of personal anti-abortion beliefs should not infringe upon the welfare of all women. Planned Parenthood understands the importance of women’s reproductive health care, and continually works to not cede those rights.