What "Defund Planned Parenthood" Really Means
BY SOPHIE TEGENU
“Defund Planned Parenthood” reads a loud neon pink poster held by a small, neon green clad girl. You do a double take – you didn’t even realize you still followed her on Instagram. This isn’t a poster from the women’s march? It sure looks like one, with a smiling teenager holding a sign half her height, while her friend leans over with a slightly smaller sign (and even bigger smile). Except the friend’s sign reads “Protect Life” and not “This Pussy Grabs BACK”. Ok, so definitely not the women’s march. What exactly are the signs for then? You look closer at the picture and spot the location—The March for Life. Focusing on the location and you see an array of beaming white men and women proudly posing before various D.C. monuments. In fact, almost all of the people pictured at the march are white. Pro-life slogans jump out in block letters from the rectangular cardboard held by their ivory hands. Not a single one of the empowering pink hats from the women’s march is in sight.
Dear Girl Whose Instagram I Accidentally Scrolled Through (& Co), Many people do not fully understand how Planned Parenthood (PP) funding operates. Does the majority of funding support abortions? Is there a specific clause for PP in the federal budget? Can PP survive solely through private funding? No, no, and no. PP can not survive through private funding alone. There is no direct federal line that funds Planned Parenthood. Instead, Medicaid reimbursements and the Title X provide most of the organization’s government funding. Medicaid is a health insurance program that offers low cost healthcare. It does not fund abortion save for extreme cases*. In fact, the Hyde Amendment of 1976 has blocked federal Medicaid from funding abortions. However, in 1994, the policy was amended for three exceptions: if pregnancy threatens a woman’s life, if pregnancy results from rape, and/or if pregnancy results from incest. As it supports PP, Medicaid provides health care programs to low-income Americans. About 75% of federal funding comes from Medicaid, so defunding PP would endanger the affordability of preventive health care. Legislation aimed at attacking abortion also attacks low income men and women who have otherwise limited access to preventive healthcare by blocking access to affordable healthcare. Medicaid reimburses PP for services, such as cancer screenings, HIV testing and birth control, that doctors and nurses typically provide to patients at no or little cost. Without government reimbursements or publically funded programs like Title X, many patients would lose access to affordable healthcare, since PP would not be able to afford free and low cost appointments. Title X is America’s family planning program, offering annual grants to support health care among low income people and the uninsured. Title X’s services include well women exams, cervical and breast cancer screenings, birth control, contraception education, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Publicly funded family planning programs, like Title X, save taxpayers $7 for every $1 invested, and save federal and state governments $13.6 billion. Over 4 million people rely Title X annually; 80% of those individuals have incomes below the federal poverty level by 150%. In addition, Title X is integral to serving marginalized communities, which already continually face systemic restrictions regarding access to healthcare. The elimination of Title X would heavily impact these people, perpetuating an endless cycle of structural mistreatment and inequality. "The elimination of Title X would heavily impact these people, perpetuating an endless cycle of structural mistreatment and inequality." At least 60% of PP patients depend on public health programs for primary and preventive care. PP prevents an estimated 579,000 unintended pregnancies per year, and the Congressional Budget Office projects that eliminating Medicaid reimbursements would create a net cost of $130 million to taxpayers over 10 years. Planned Parenthood also offers services that are often not available elsewhere, especially in rural communities. Without PP, there are not enough health care providers to satisfy the needs of the public – especially those who need it the most. "Planned Parenthood also offers services that are often not available elsewhere, especially in rural communities." So to the friend of a friend whose bright sign spoke such dulling words— ‘protecting life’ does not respect the oft ignored lives that will be neglected by a lack of access to affordable healthcare. *All facts and statistics referenced in this article can be found on the Planned Parenthood website. |