What Planned Parenthood Really Provides

What+Planned+Parenthood+Really+Provides

Jesse Schuerer, Reporter

In a world where women’s health is still highly debated in the public, a lot of people believe that the government should not provide funding for family planning organizations such as Parenthood. 

I believe that Planned Parenthood’s funding is incredibly deserved because they provide essential services to people who cannot afford healthcare anywhere else, and is essential to the health of people.

Political attacks on Planned Parenthood are nothing new, nine days after founder Margaret Sanger opened the country’s first birth control clinic in 1916, police raided the clinic and shut it down, and though in the modern day Planned Parenthood is protected by the federal government politicians still attempt to shut it down and stop federal funding. 

But first we need to actually break down what the “funding” Planned Parenthood is. “Most of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding is from Medicaid reimbursements for preventive care, and also some funding from Title X,” (IStandWithPlannedParenthood.com) So “defunding” Planned Parenthood is just blocking patients from care. 

Most federal funds come through Medicaid, the government-funded health insurance plan for people with low incomes. Just like other kinds of insurance, Medicaid reimburses Planned Parenthood’s doctors and nurses for the preventive medical services they provide, including cancer screenings, HIV tests, and birth control. These services are incredibly important to people who cannot afford healthcare elsewhere. 

Abortion is one of the many reasons why Planned Parenthood is often under fire. Abortion is the act of terminating a pregnancy that a person does not wish to take to term. These activists are claiming to be attacking abortion but in reality they hurt those in Impoverished situations.

According to The New York Times, people who live in poverty in America, getting medical care is never easy, people who don’t have insurance can’t afford care, or are completely broke and left with nothing after paying for it. for those in texas it’s even more complicated because Medicaid rules in Texas are the among strictest in the nation. A four person family with two parents has to make less than $285 dollars a month in order to qualify, and over the last few years it’s gotten worse. Texas politicians have worked to cut off Medicaid recipients’ access to services supplied by Planned Parenthood.

Because of the “funding” Planned Parenthood gets is made up of Medicaid reimbursements, states that limit those who qualify for Medicaid. This hurts people who don’t qualify because they often still can’t afford healthcare.

Planned Parenthood’s services are incredibly important to all types of people, wither its birth control, cancer screenings, or abortion services.