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Hanna Farra

Ms. Levesque

Communications

28 April 2017

Should The Federal Government Fund Planned Parenthood?

The United States Republican party has been infamous for their anti-abortion views for

years. Today, one of the Republican partys main anti-abortion objectives is to cancel federal

funding of Planned Parenthood entirely. However, if this were to happen, thousands of patients

would have nowhere else to turn for health care ("How Federal Funding Works at Planned

Parenthood"). The United States Federal Government should sustain federal funding of Planned

Parenthood.

First of all, what is Planned Parenthood? According to CNN, Planned Parenthood claims

to be the largest provider of reproductive health services in the United States, offering sexual and

reproductive health care, education and outreach to nearly 5 million women, men and

adolescents annually worldwide. It provides numerous helpful services including abortion, sex

education, contraceptives, pregnancy tests, pap smears (female cervical cancer screening),

sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening and testing, and breast exams. (Strickland)

The main reason Republicans are vying to block Planned Parenthood funding is because

it provides abortions for women. "We don't want to commit taxpayer funding for abortion, and

Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider," said House Speaker Paul Ryan. However,

abortions are just a small portion of what they do. According to the National Public Radio

(NPR), only 3% of Planned Parenthood services are abortion related. The other 97% are helpful
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services like STD screening or contraception, that 26% of patients said they could not find

anywhere else. (Strickland)

Finally, without federal funding, Planned Parenthood would be shut down and that

would have devastating consequences for millions of people particularly people of color,

people with low incomes, and people in rural communities who already face barriers to care

("How Federal Funding Works at Planned Parenthood"). According to NPR, in a study conducted

on how Planned Parenthood spends their money, of their overall $1.3 billion revenue each year,

they spend 42% on STDs, 34% contraception, 11% womens services, 9% cancer screening, 1%

other services, and, as mentioned before, only 3% on abortions. Planned Parenthood receives

$500 million a year in government funding (Kurtzleben). That $500 million totals to about half

of their overall funding, the rest coming from private and non-government contributors

(Kurtzleben). This reveals that Planned Parenthood would have some heavy financial trouble

without federal funding (Kurtzleben). If that happened, it would be denying the majority of our

population the right to be educated on the responsibilities that come with being sexually active as

well as the risks and how to prevent them.

Furthermore, there is no direct line of funding that the government can shut down. Most

of Planned Parenthoods federal funding comes through programs like Medicaid. According to

Planned Parenthood, Theres no keep-Planned-Parenthood-running part of the federal budget.

[...] At least 60% of Planned Parenthood patients rely on public health programs like Medicaid

and Title X for their preventive and primary care. So, when you hear extreme politicians talking

about defunding Planned Parenthood, they really mean blocking patients who rely on public

health care programs from getting their care at Planned Parenthood centers ("How Federal

Funding Works at Planned Parenthood").

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Some argue that Planned Parenthood is toxic for our society because instead of teaching

abstinence, it teaches other forms of contraception and STD protection. Though abstinence is

inarguably the most foolproof form of contraception, in our modern society it is not sensible to

expect all young people to adhere to that practice. We should continue to teach abstinence as the

most successful form of contraception; however, we still need to prepare our citizens in the event

that they make the decision to become sexually active.

In conclusion, Planned Parenthood is a necessity for thousands of citizens in our modern

society to stay safe and informed. Without federal funding, this important part of our society

would likely shut down, hindering the right of thousands of citizens to have access to complete

and unbiased reproductive healthcare and education. And we all know their[The Republican

partys] ultimate goal: To shut down all Planned Parenthood health centers. If that happens, it

would cause a national health care disaster. Many Planned Parenthood patients nearly half of

whom are people of color, and many of whom live in rural areas would have nowhere else to

turn for health care (("How Federal Funding Works at Planned Parenthood"). The United States

Federal Government should sustain funding of Planned Parenthood.

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Work Cited

"How Federal Funding Works at Planned Parenthood." Planned Parenthood Action Fund. N.p., 5

Jan. 2017. Web. 07 Apr. 2017..

Kurtzleben, Danielle. "Fact Check: How Does Planned Parenthood Spend That Government

Money?" NPR. NPR, 05 Aug. 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

Strickland, Ashley and Debra Goldschmidt. "Planned Parenthood: Fast Facts and Revealing

Numbers." CNN. Cable News Network, 17 Jan. 2017. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.