Tesla Bethel
Lantern Staff
Time and time again, American citizens, specifically females, have had to stand up for women’s health as well as reproductive rights. This is evident by the fact that year after year, citizens must fight state governments as well as Congress in regards to defunding Planned Parenthood.
According to the Washington Times last January, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback attempted to cut off all state funding to Planned Parenthood. Luckily, the proposal did not pass and was voted against the defunding in July of 2016. However, as of January 2017, Brownback is after Planned Parenthood once again, attempting to break the Medicaid contract that Planned Parenthood has resulting in the $61,000 the organization usually receives to go to other health clinics around the state.
According to the Chicago Tribune, most of this funding isn’t used for abortions, but goes toward health exams, vaccinations, contraception and even cancer screenings. Planned Parenthood is so much more than just the abortions some critics make them out to be. Many low-income women go to the clinics just to better their overall health.
Per youngwomenshealth.org, in some instances, birth control isn’t just a form of contraception, but a necessary measure to regulate their hormones. Diseases such as Polycystic Ovaries (POS), Endometriosis and Amenorrhea result in medical professionals prescribing birth control to either help with symptoms or to balance their hormones.
Contraception has other benefits than just helping protect against unwanted pregnancy. It regulates hormones as well as periods and it can decrease the intensity of period symptoms such as cramps and in some cases help clear up acne ridden skin.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention within the last few months, abortions have reached an all-time low in 40 years. They believe that this is because of an increased access to contraception, which has led to the drastic decrease in abortions performed every year. This means that Planned Parenthood making contraception available to low income women has helped with the number of unplanned pregnancy, which also decreased the number of abortions.
This is not just an issue on a state level, but also a federal level. According to the US News, the 114th Congress decided this January to start voting for the eighth time to defund Planned Parenthood. The House of Representatives plans to pass a bill that not only guts the Affordable Care Act, but also takes about $450 million in federal assistance from Planned Parenthood and prevents patients with Medicaid from getting proper reimbursement for their visits to Planned Parenthood clinics.
This has nothing to do with abortion for the simple fact a law was already made to where taxpayer funds do not cover abortion. Women have always had to pay the full out of pocket amount.
No, this defunding will affect the regular health care exams, the vaccinations, contraception and cancer screenings. So, this is the equivalent to going to the doctor when you have insurance to get a regular health care checkup only to find the insurance does not cover anything, and you have to pay full price. Seems a little unjust, does it not?
The defunding of Planned Parenthood is going to affect all women across the country, especially those low income women who cannot always afford to get necessary medical exams. Since Planned Parenthood was established in 1916, there has been a constant battle in regards to women’s health and reproductive rights. However since the organization has been around, teenage pregnancy as reached an all-time low. According to the Center for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC), statistics show a 40 percent drop in the United States teen pregnancy rate from 1990 to 2008, which is at an all-time low since 1976.
Just as Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards states, “Planned Parenthood is actually the solution, not the problem.”