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Lily Tison

Conan Martinez

Humanities

02 December 2019

The Future of Planned Parenthood

“Reproductive freedom is critical to a whole range of issues. If we can’t take charge of this most

personal aspect of our lives, we can’t take care of anything. It should not be seen as a privilege

or as a benefit, but a fundamental human right.” - Faye Wattleton, former Planned Parenthood

president, abortion rights activist

Planned Parenthood started in 1916 in Brooklyn with Margaret Sanger and her two sisters

opening a birth control clinic. Only 10 days later, the women were arrested for ‘distributing

obscenities.' Nevertheless, their trial served to raise awareness about the importance of family

planning and physician provided birth control. This was the start of a major cultural shift

regarding sexual health and education. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has since

expanded to provide sexual education, male and female birth control, sexual disease testing and

treatment, hormone therapy, pregnancy testing, abortion, and general healthcare for citizens of

all genders and incomes. The defunding of PPFA would affect low income individuals' access to

safe and confidential sexual health services.

According to the CDC, 2018 marked an all-time high for STDs, such as gonorrhea,

syphilis, and chlamydia with a total of 2.3 million cases recognized nationally. Studies show

rates are up for a number of reasons: drug usage, poverty, stigma surrounding sexual health, a
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recent decrease in condom usage, and a portion of local clinics being victim to budget cuts.

Additionally, studies published by the PMC have found a correlation between psychiatric

disorders and higher STD rates. The last five consecutive years have shown a clear increase in

STD rates, and there is no predicted decline for the future. Clinics such as PPFA that provide

STD information, prevention methods, and treatment often free or at a low cost are vital to the

improvement of the nation's overall public health and well being. Such clinics hold a great

importance, and many individuals rely primarily on them to lead an enjoyable and healthy life.

Currently, government grants makeup a third of PPFA’s funding. The term government

grants includes Title X grants and Medicaid reimbursements. Title X grants are government

grants awarded to entities exclusively to sustain the family planning services that they provide.

When patients with Medicaid coverage visit Planned Parenthood, Planned Parent submits a claim

to Medicaid, and since Medicaid is a federal program, the money Planned Parenthood is

reimbursed with is also considered a government grant. Policy changes in Title X could result in

PPFA becoming ineligible to receive grants, which would result in a 50 million loss in their

annual revenue, leading to many clinics closing out of lack of funds to sustain the frequency of

procedures they perform. The motivation behind this policy change is to exclude PPFA from this

grant opportunity, and it is supported primarily by socially conservative politicians, including

president Trump. The fact that PPFA performs abortion has proved to be quite controversial for

numerous reasons. Arguments against the legality of abortion are usually religious based, stating

abortion is murder. Regardless of the morality of abortion, many women use this service when

they strongly feel that a child would interfere with their education or career, or they could not

financially support a child at this point in their life. In rare cases, women will also turn to
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abortion services in an instance of rape or incest. A woman's child is her child, and her body is

her’s, regardless of the circumstances or situation.

If Planned Parenthood clinics lost funding, Federally Qualified Health Centers would

likely absorb PPFA’s previous Title X grants and Medicaid patients. FQHCs are clinics that

provide dental services, preventive health services, hospital care and mental health services that

currently rely on Medicaid reimbursements, and other government grants for funding. If PPFA

lacked the financial support to keep clinics open, FQHC would be tasked with covering millions

of women who formerly were cared for by PPFA. According to a Guttmatcher policy analysis,

an FQHC clinic will provide contraceptives for 320 patients a year, while an average PPFA

clinic will provide for 3,000. Asking FQHCs to suddenly provide for millions of extra patients

immediately would surely be extremely difficult if not impossible. Professionals from numerous

board associations have even expressed the chaos this would inflict. The transition between

PPFA and FQHC would mean uncertainty and desperation for patients.

In PPFA’s annual report for 2018, 9,687,070 services were provided for individuals

across the nation. Since the 1920s, PPFA has provided for hundreds of millions of women. If

there was ever a time when access to safe, professional, and confidential services was most

necessary, it would certainly be now. Our country has undergone significant cultural changes,

and what is considered normal will forever be constantly evolving. Because of this, sexual health

services are extremely valuable today, and forever will be. People’s health conditions and needs

cannot wait for policies to be agreed upon or funds to be transfered. In closing, without PPFA

low income individuals would not only lose access to safe, professional, and confidential health

services, but lose control over their life goals, dignity, and good health.
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Works Cited

“Faye Wattleton Quotes.” ​BrainyQuote​, Xplore,

www.brainyquote.com/authors/faye-wattleton-quotes.

Feltman, Rachel. “Sexually Transmitted Diseases Are at an All Time High (Again). But Why?”

Popular Science,​ Popular Science, 18 Mar. 2019,

www.popsci.com/sexually-transmitted-disease-increase/.

Hasstedt, Kinsey. “Federally Qualified Health Centers: Vital Sources of Care, No Substitute for

the Family Planning Safety Net.” ​Guttmacher Institute,​ 25 Mar. 2019,

www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2017/05/federally-qualified-health-centers-vital-sources-care-n

o-substitute-family-planning.

Hasstedt, Kinsey. “Federally Qualified Health Centers: Vital Sources of Care, No Substitute for

the Family Planning Safety Net.” ​Guttmacher Institute,​ 25 Mar. 2019,

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“HHS Releases Final Title X Rule Detailing Family Planning Grant Program.” ​HHS.gov​, US

Department of Health and Human Services, 24 Feb. 2019,

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unity-health-centers-cannot-replace-planned-parenthood.
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Nield, David. “The US Just Hit Another Troubling High in STD Rates, And You Need to Protect

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-continues.

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www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/2019/2018-STD-surveillance-report-press-release.html.

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