The Importance Of Planned Parenthood

Barbara is a middle-aged woman and thinks she may have a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Stacey is a high school junior looking for birth control methods. Laura is an older woman who needs a preliminary breast exam. Lisa is in her mid-twenties looking to get a pregnancy test. All four women turn to the same place, Planned Parenthood. However, recently, Planned Parenthood has come under attack because the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) accuses Planned Parenthood, through a series of videos, of profiting from the illegal sale of fetal tissue. Although the CMP is currently under investigation for violation of tax and privacy laws, its accusations may cause Planned Parenthood to lose funding from the government (Devi). Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood provides a specific set of crucial services, focusing on the sexual reproductive health of women, unlike many other public health centers. This leads many women to turn to Planned Parenthood for services that benefit their basic health and well-being. In 2013, Planned Parenthood provided 10.6 million services to 2.7 million patients (“2013-2014 Annual Report” 17). The millions of people every year who need and use Planned Parenthood testifies to its important role in society. It is true that there are public health centers that women could turn to other than Planned Parenthood, but they would not be enough if Planned Parenthood were to disappear. As Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University, explains, “You can’t end services for millions of women and overnight get a replacement in every community where they are needed” (Devi). Because of the specific set of services it provides, Planned Parenthood cannot be completely replaced by public health centers. Even though it only makes up 13% of Title X funded centers, it serves 36% of Title X patients (Cohen). Despite being greatly outnumbered by the number of other public health centers, Planned Parenthood still serves just as many people. The services Planned Parenthood provides are so crucial that women seek it out even though other health
Even though Planned Parenthood may provide abortion procedures, they account for only 3% of their total services (“2013-2014 Annual Report”). A large concern for anti-abortion critics is that they are indirectly paying for abortions with their tax dollars. Planned Parenthood, does in fact receive 41% of their annual revenue from the government, but only in two ways: through Title X grants and Medicaid reimbursements (“2013-2014 Annual Report”; Kurtzleben). Title X, the only federal bill specifically for contraceptive and sexual health services, prohibits the use of its funds for abortions (Cohen). Medicaid also, as of 1997, bans the use of its funds for abortions and abortion-related services (Richardson). Because both of Planned Parenthood’s government funders ban the use of their funds for abortion, no government money is used for abortions. Therefore, critics do not have to worry about indirectly paying for an abortion. Taxpayer money is merely used to fund their other services which benefit the health of both men and