Rianna P.

Gurr
Gurr 1
Professor J. Courtney
ENG 2010
20 Sept. 2017
The Dangers of Defunding Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood is an organization started by Margaret Sanger in 1916 with the

revolutionary idea that women should have the information and care they need to live strong,

healthy lives and fulfill their dreams (Planned Parenthood | 100 Years Strong) . Sanger, with the

help of her sister Ethel Byrne and friend Fania Mindell, opened the first birth control clinic in

Brownsville, Brooklyn, NY. They aimed to make reproductive care available for women,

specifically low-income, minority women.. Planned Parenthood is now, not only a nation wide

care provider, but reaches out globally and helps women around the world. They currently offer

multiple services including birth control, STI testing and treatment, cancer screenings, abortions

and much more (Planned Parenthood at a Glance). These services are offered for an affordable

price, and clinics are often located in areas where other means of care are not available,

especially regarding the female reproductive system. Like other health care and family planning

facilities, Planned Parenthood received government funding through medicaid reimbursement,

after providing care to those who use government insurance. Even though only a small

percentage of services done by Planned Parenthood are abortions, many anti-abortionist advocate

for the complete withdrawal of federal funding from the organization. When it comes to

government and political standpoints, this belief is primarily held by conservatives and

republicans. In recent years, multiple right-wing public officials have worked to put in place

public policy barring federal money from the organization, and any other facilities that offer

abortion services. This sparks great debate considering the large amount of other health care

services they provide.

 In April of 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill which would allow, and

possibly even encourage, states to deny Planned Parenthood federal money (Trump Signs

Bill). Miriam Berg explains further, the ways in which funding is distributed to the

organization. She writes Most...federal funding is from medicaid reimbursements for

preventative care, and some is from Title X. There isnt a special federal budget for allowances

to Planned Parenthood like many my think. More than half of patients seen at Planned

Parenthood facilities use these government funded health programs, medicaid and Title X. When

these politicians, such as President Trump, talk about defunding Planned Parenthood, what

they really mean is not allowing patients who rely on these programs, primarily low-income

women, to receive care at Planned Parenthood clinics, which are often the only means of

reproductive health care available for women living in certain areas. President Trumps new bill

basically undoes a bill that former President Barack Obama signed before leaving office.

President Obama's bill ensured that states could not discriminate against Planned Parenthood

when distributing money for family planning services. This bill being reversed will have the

greatest impact on republican, right leaning states (Trump Signs a Bill), as it does not require a

state withhold funding, but rather allows them to make the choice to do so.

Now, just because the new bill opens up the window for defunding Planned Parenthood,

it doesn't necessarily mean that states are going take advantage of the opportunity. However

recent history, a time just before President Obama's original bill, shows us what states can and

will do to put an end to the organization. Former Governor Jindal of Louisiana originally

attempted to cut medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood in 2015, after videos were released

showing Planned Parenthood selling tissues of aborted fetus (later proven to be fabricated by

anti-abortionist). They argued the case that Planned Parenthood is was not qualified to be
providing care. The organizations Louisiana affiliate took the case to court, and argued that

Jindal's motivations were purely political (McGill, 2015). A judge panel denied request for the

cut. However, state attorneys then argued that the ruling went against a prior decision by the

Supreme Court about the extent of the right of medicaid recipients to choose care providers.

Current Louisiana Governor, John Bel Edwards, has proposed a bill that would deny funding for

Planned Parenthood if they began performing abortions in Louisiana (McGill, 2016).

In Alabama, a similar situation was unfolding in 2015. Again, following the release of

fabricated videos showing Planned Parenthood affiliates selling fetal body parts, another state

official embarks on a mission to defund Planned Parenthood. Alabama claims that they want to

cut funding to the organization through medicaid, but courts had already ruled that states cannot

decide which family planning facilities they will allow to receive federal funding based on who

provides abortions and who doesnt. They can, however, cut Title X funding. (Alabama Cuts

Funding). Texas did cut funding for Planned Parenthood earlier in the year, and since, the

number of women getting health care has dropped dramatically. 25% of family planning centers

have closed, and those that are still open are seeing half as many patients. This means that many

women are no longer receiving health care, or utilizing family planning services at all. Health

experts say that the upshot of this will be more unplanned births and more abortions. This

assumption is reasonable, considering that Planned Parenthood provides a substantial amount of

birth control and sex education, not available if their doors are closed. (Alabama Cuts

Funding)

We must keep in mind that about 60 percent of low-income women in Texas received

care at these Planned Parenthood locations (Newborn, 2016). The state of Indiana, who also cut

funding for Planned Parenthood, experienced an outbreak of HIV, called an epidemic by

government officials, likely due to the decrease in availability of STD screenings after some

clinics were forced to close their doors after the funding cuts (Alabama Cuts Funding).

Not only does closing the doors of Planned Parenthood mean less access to STI

screenings, but also less access to sex education and contraception, ultimately leading to an

increase in the number of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies which women are often inclined

to terminate. In 2016, republican Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, signed two bills aiming

to cut funding for Planned Parenthood. One bill limits the amount that the organization can be

reimbursed for prescription drugs, like birth control. This is expected to cost the organization

about 4.5 million dollars a year. The second bill blocks federal Title X money from any

organization that offers abortion. This one will cost Planned Parenthood about 3.5 billion dollars

annually (Associated Press, 2016). While blocking the amount of birth control Planned

Parenthood can distribute may effectively cause them to lose money, the bill is counter

productive in its efforts to decrease the abortion rate.

Planned Parenthood offers a place for quality, affordable and accessible care for millions.

These attempts by politicians and government officials to decrease, or completely eliminate,

medicaid reimbursement and Title X funding for Planned Parenthood could be catastrophic for

women across the country. 491 counties in the United States have Planned Parenthood facilities,

in 332 of those counties they serve at least half of of the areas family planning clients, and in 103

of them, Planned Parenthood is the only family planning center available (Planned Parenthood is

critical) .They are not defunding abortion, but rather defunding women's health care as a whole.

Reproductive care, sex education and family planning is essential for a successful society. These

things may become inaccessible if Planned Parenthood has to close its doors and the effects can
be as detrimental as an HIV epidemic, or worse. It is imperative that we continue to support

Planned Parenthood if we wish to support reproductive health in our communities.

Works Cited

Alabama Cuts Funding To Planned Parenthood. Weekend Edition Saturday, National Public
Radio (NPR) ,8 Aug. 2015. Web. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017. Transcript.
Associated Press. Wisconsin governor cuts funding for Planned Parenthood. 18 February 2016.
Web. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017

Berg, Mariam . How Federal Funding Works at Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood
Action Fund, 5 Jan. 2017, www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/blog/how-federal-funding-
works-at-planned-parenthood. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.

McGill, Kevin. Louisiana tries to revive Planned parenthood funding cut . Associated Press, 30
Sept. 2016. Web. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.

Newborn , Deborah . Study Shows Impact of Cutting Planned Parenthood Funding. Governing
magazine: State and local government news for America's leaders, Tribune News
Service, 4 Feb. 2016, www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/tns-texas-
planned-parenthood-babies.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.

Planned Parenthood | 100 Years Strong. Planned Parenthood 100 Years Strong,
100years.plannedparenthood.org/#e1916-1936. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017.

Planned Parenthood is critical to womens reproductive health. guttmacher.org,

GUTTMACHER INSTITUTE, 2010 ,
http://healthaffairs.oilyqzi36akjprmk.netdna-cdn.com/wp-
content/uploads/PlannedParenthoodIsCritical-HealthAffairs.jpg

Trump Signs Bill That Allows States To Deny Funding To Planned Parenthood. All Things
Considered , National Public Radio (NPR) , 14 Apr. 2017. Web. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017.
Transcript.