Dizney Court

Mrs.Briggs
English 1010 11:30
December 17th, 2015
Synthesis Exploration
Introduction
My topic of interest for research is going to be about Planned Parenthood. To my
understanding there has been some controversy over funding for Planned Parenthood and
whether or not it should be government funded. Because I am a female I want to know what
Planned Parenthoods services are, and what do they do as a company. In my research I want to
answer questions like: Do they need government funding or can they stand on their own? Does
Planned Parenthood need my support as a woman? Is Planned Parenthood a necessity to sexual
and overall health? While researching this topic I hope to have an honest and knowledgeable
understanding of Planned Parenthood as a whole.
My Findings
I think I got a good mix of contrasting pieces that all added something different to my
research. Let me begin by going over what each one was about, in the order that I read them. In
the article titled Planned Parenthood from the Congressional Digest, the Author begins with
an informative fact about the bill S 1881 (a bill to prohibit federal funding to Planned
Parenthood) did not obtain enough votes to pass. The article informs us that Planned
Parenthood is a non-profit organization that provides reproductive, maternal, and child health
services, including abortions. The article also addresses a controversial video that seemingly

shows workers discussing selling selling parts of unborn fetuses. Planned Parenthood has been
a big part of controversy about the abortion debate, the article states, and they have not
denied receiving payment for transfer of fetal tissue. Congress, in 1993, approved the
legalization of fetal tissue research, including in cases when the samples were obtained from
legal abortion procedures(p4).
I think starting off with Planned Parenthood was perfect because it was a short,
informational article to really guide me into the topic. It gave a nice base to work off of in my
journey to gather information. Because it was so unbiased, it didn't throw me into a side I
should take, and that gave me more time to start forming my own thoughts and opinions. I
think It was a good starting point into my research.
Randall K OBannon, author of the article Planned Parenthood to Congress: Ignore
what you see, hear in those videos begins her piece addressing videos of Planned Parenthood
employees allegedly speaking off the clock about abortion procedures and techniques to profit
off of selling fetal tissue. Bannon also talks about the letter that Planned Parenthood sent to
Congress stating evidence that they weren't practicing anything illegal. Bannon does not like
that to Planned Parenthood The only serious issue up for discussion was whether or not
Planned Parenthood broke any laws(Bannon 14). To Bannon, the issue is not whether or not
Planned Parenthood has broken any laws, but the public horror and outrage the videos have
caused.Regardless of her opinion, Bannon informs that Planned Parenthood operates under a
law that allows them to receive reimbursement payments for retrieving fetal tissue to go
towards progressive health and scientific research. The discussion emerging from information
in the videos is if Planned Parenthood is trying to change procedures in order to get better and

more intact specimen, Bannon adds, and by making adjustments could be a stretch in trying to
stay under the law. Bannon digresses into the issue that the employees at Planned Parenthood
seem emotionless and heartless while performing the clinic. Bannon is troubled by the
shocking footage of employees picking apart body parts in a seemingly emotionless state of not
caring for the loss of life. It would never occur to Planned Parenthood that they could save
millions of lives simply by shutting down their abortion clinics (Bannon 44). Bannon simply
thinks it's a better idea to shut down Planned Parenthood abortion clinics all together.
The article that Randall Bannon was much more opinionated than the first piece that I
read. I didn't like the amount of time spent on citing her opinion on the issue, and I feel it
digressed too much from the information I needed to progress in my research. Although the
piece was more lengthy than the first one, I did find some good information when Bannon
wasn't rambling about the moral issues she personally had. I think the information I did find
was very helpful and insightful about the laws Planned Parenthood works under, and the
general issues going on related to the cliniques. Overall, not a complete waste, even if in the
beginning I didn't think it was going anywhere.
In Katha Pollitt's article Come out, Pro-Choicers, she is very advocate about showing
her support for Planned Parenthood. Her main topic is about the women who have received
abortions, and the stigma that follows them. She leads with a statistic Nearly one in three
women in the United States will have had at least one abortion by the time they reach
menopause (Pollitt 10). Pollitt supports her proposal that abortion and other Planned
Parenthood services affect more people than we think, saying most of us have either used PP
for a service or know someone close to us who has. Pollitt believes Planned Parenthood needs

our support to issue health services to prevent live changing issues. Pollitt also discusses the
many women who cannot speak about their abortions, and have to go into hiding in fear of
being outcast, beaten, or judged. Pollitt wants to end this stigma and poor treatment, and for
Planned Parenthood to be supported for the good that they do for us.
I had a much more pleasant experience reading Katha Pollitts article. Although
generally it was not as informative as the previous pieces, It did add the nice little touch I
needed to finish my research. It didn't go too deep into anything, but it brought the issues to a
sort of ground level to where we can relate and have a better understanding.
Conclusion
In my research I think I did answer some of my initial questions. Katha Pollitt answered
the question if Planned Parenthood needs my support, and if they need funding. The answer is
yes, they need the funding to give inexpensive services to people in need, and as a supporter
they could use donations. Not only that, but Pollitt also helped answer the question of whether
or not Planned Parenthood is necessary to my overall health. Yes, they are. Planned
Parenthood offers lots of services for the reproductive health, which is a big part of being a
women. Although Randall Bannon seemed to be against Planned Parenthood and their abortion
services, my findings in her article also helped answer that same question. Bannon addresses a
statement from Obamas administration of help, talking about how fetal tissue research
contributes to advancing health and cures to diseases. Any advancement in medicine is helpful
to my health overall, to improve and promote better living for everyone. Overall I'm happy with
my findings, but of course Ill have more questions. Is Planned Parenthood really possibly
breaking the law? Wasnt Planned Parenthood just recently defunding from the government?

Will Planned Parenthood slip out of existence or someday be just a regular as a visit as the
dentist of salon? Because this is such a controversial subject, it will always be hard to find
unbiased information, but this will not stop me from continuing to look into the issues, and
learn to better understand my sexual and reproductive health.

WorksCited

O'Bannon,RandallK."PlannedParenthoodToCongress:IgnoreWhatYouSee,Hear
InThoseVideos."
NationalRightToLifeNews
(2015):1445.
AcademicSearch
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.Web.12Nov.2015.
"PlannedParenthood."
CongressionalDigest
94.7(2015):12.
AcademicSearch
Premier
.Web.9Nov.2015.
Pollitt,Katha."ComeOut,ProChoicers!."
Nation
301.11/12(2015):1011.
Academic
SearchPremier
.Web.17Dec.2015.