Let's Wrap It Up

Planned Parenthood.  A federally-funded organization that provides reproductive healthcare to those who normally would not be able to afford it.  An organization that founded itself in the early 1900’s by birth control activist Margret Sanger. 

I have given you the history of Planned Parenthood, as well as the services it provides.  I have gone in depth about certain services such as abortion, and I have even discussed where Planned Parenthood gets its money from.

With all of this information readily available, I ask you to make an informed decision on whether you choose to support Planned Parenthood or not.

I have tried to keep my opinion about the organization out of the way (although I do apologize since it may have slipped out in my writing) – but now, in my last post, I will share with you what I think.

I am pro Planned Parenthood.  I believe the organization does a lot of good for society, and should continue to be funded by the government. 

Now you’re opinion might be different from mine, and that is completely ok.  My goal was not to sway you guys into thinking the same way as me (I already turned in my persuasive essay), my goal was to inform you.

Inform you on the history of Planned Parenthood.  I discussed with you Margret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, or what was originally known as National Birth Control League.  I talked about how she fought the Comstock laws, laws that prevented the spread of knowledge about birth control, and created an organization that not only would provide free birth control, but lots of other reproductive services. (x)

Inform you on the different types of services provided by Planned Parenthood.  These are things such as STD testing/treatment, contraception, cancer screenings and prevention, abortions, and other women’s health services. (x)

Inform you in detail on certain things such as abortion.  Abortion, as I stated before, is the early termination of a pregnancy so that the child being developed is not born. (x) It also makes up only 3% of the services provided by Planned Parenthood. 

And finally, inform you on the funding of Planned Parenthood.  I discussed where Planned Parenthood gets its money from (a large portion of it comes from the government) and what they do with the money they get.

Planned Parenthood has been a long standing organization since its official founding in 1932.  It has gone through many trials and tribulations, and has (so far) withstood the heat of those who wish to defund it.

What does the future hold for Planned Parenthood?

The presidential election is quickly approaching, and each presidential candidate has a different view on Planned Parenthood.

Bernie Sanders and Hilary Clinton, the two democratic nominees for the 2016 presidential election, both support Planned Parenthood.  The democratic party has a long standing tradition of supporting the organization, since it believes women should have access to free reproductive healthcare.

Ted Cruz, a candidate for the Republican party of the 2016 election, is against the funding of Planned Parenthood.  He is pro-life (someone who is against the practice of abortions) and believes we as Americans are spending too much on Planned Parenthood. (x)

Donald Trump, another candidate for the Republican party of the 2016 election, is also against the funding of Planned Parenthood.  He has stated that if he becomes president, he will not only defund Planned Parenthood, but overturn Roe vs Wade, the supreme court case that took place in 1973 that made abortions legal.

So there you have it.  As I finish my final post for this blog, I hope I have educated you on the true nature of Planned Parenthood, so you can make your own decision on whether you support the organization or not. 

Let's Talk Funding

Planned Parenthood’s mission is to provide free reproductive healthcare to those individuals who otherwise would not be able to afford normal health services.  They are one of the nation’s top healthcare providers, and have been since they began their work in in the early 1900s.  And with Planned Parenthood being such a large national organization, you must think to yourself, how can they afford to provide these services?

And no, unfortunately, it is not through donations (at least not most of it is).

Planned Parenthood is a federally funded organization.  They have received funding from the government since 1970, when president Nixon signed into law the “Family Planning Services and Population Research Act”, or better known as “Title X”.  (x) The purpose of this act was specifically designed to provide poor and/or lower income families with access to free healthcare.

At the time, Title X had the support of both the Democratic and Republican party.  Now, however, we start to see the Republican party go against Planned Parenthood – mostly over the issue of abortion, which I discussed in my last post. 

Planned Parenthood receives half a billion dollars each year from the government.  This money is provided through two specific government programs: Medicaid and Title X.  (x) Medicaid is a social health care program, again provided health services to those who would otherwise not be able to afford it.  In 2014, 65 million people were on Medicaid, which is a large portion of our nation. 

Although most of Planned Parenthood’s money is received from the federal government, a portion of what they earn comes out of state funds.  Title X is a federal program, however Medcaid operates through federal and state funds. 

In 2015, Jed Bush, a politician who served as the governor of Florida, made a jab at Planned Parenthood saying they’re “not actually doing women’s health issues”.   He also stated he’s “not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues.” (x)

He’s not the only one.  Many people, politicians and average citizens alike, wish to defund Planned Parenthood. 

As I stated before, this is mainly due to the issue of abortions.  While they only cover 3 percent of the services provided by Planned Parenthood, some people believe abortions are morally wrong, therefore wish to see any organization that provides them eradicated.  According to the law, Title X is actually not allowed to fund abortions.  However, Medicaid on the other hand is.

There was actually a scandal last year claiming that Planned Parenthood was improperly disposing of fetal tissue and selling baby parts.  While the organization denied the allegations, it still sparked controversy that called for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. (x)

Bills have set out in the past to try and defund the organization.  However, none of them actually passed.

According to Planned Parenthood themselves, 67% of their funding goes toward “medical services”.  16% goes toward “non medical services”, 10% goes toward “management and general support”, and 5% goes toward “fundraising”. (x)

And as far as how and where they get their money, 45% of it comes from the government.  25% of it comes from non-government affiliated health services, 26% of it comes from private contributions (so I guess more than a quarter of it does come through donations), and then 4% is just listed as other. (x) 

What would happen if we were to defund Planned Parenthood?  In actuality, the money probably just go another organization providing women's health care.

In my next post, I will wrap up all things Planned Parenthood.  I will go over it's history, the services it provides -- in hopes for you to better understand what the organization is about and be able to make an educated decision on whether you support it or not. 

Let's Talk Abortions

In my last post, I discussed the different services offered by Planned Parenthood.  These services included STD testing/treatment, contraception, cancer screenings – and abortions.

As mentioned in my previous post, abortions only cover 3% ofthe services offered by Planned Parenthood.  Yet it is the most talked about of all the services provided, and it is the one that receives the most criticism.

What exactly is an abortion? And why is there so much controversy surrounding it?

I am sure you have all heard of the term “abortion” before.  An abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, which does not result in the birth of a child.  There are different methods on how it can be preformed, and different states have different laws on whether or not they are provided.

Abortions were always illegal until 1973, the year of Roe vs Wade.  In 1972,  a woman named Norma McCorvey filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas.  This was known to be  a product of the sexual revolution of the 1960’s and 1970’s, where women started being more free with their sexuality.  She claimed that the illegalization of abortions infringed upon her constitutional rights.  This case was taken to the Supreme Court, and on January 22^nd of 1973, it was decided that women should have the right to a safe and legal abortion. 

It was decided that states were allowed to choose how accessible they wish to make abortions.  While it is still illegal for them to completely ban abortions, individual states are allowed to make their own restrictions.  These restrictions include things such as not being allowed to receive an abortion if you are in your third trimester, or rules that women under 18 must notify their parents before receiving the procedure.

Some states only allow access to abortions if the mother has been raped and/or if the pregnancy puts her life at risk.  More liberal states, such as where I am from New York, have fewer restrictions.

Abortion has been a controversial topic ever since 1973 when it became legalized.  There are some who agree with the practice, and others who do not.

Some people think abortion is immoral.  They view an abortion as the murdering of a child, therefore in their eyes it should be illegal.  These people are known as “Pro-Life”.  Pro-Life people often tend to be of Christian faith, although not all of them are.  They often protest to get rid of abortions for good.

Then there are “Pro-Choice” people.  These people believe women should have the right to a safe and legal abortion, more specifically a safe and healthy one.   Their stance is that if abortions are not provided legally, women are going to attempt to go to extreme and often life-threatening measures in order to terminate their pregnancy. These people seek to make abortions even more accessible.

There are two different methods to perform an abortion.  There is a medical abortion, also known as an abortion pill.  This is an oral medication taken by a pregnant female that causes a miscarriage to occur.  This is the preferred method, but it must done early in the pregnancy.  Once the female is past 10 weeks in her trimester, a different kind of pill is taken.  Instead of causing a miscarriage, this pill causes the womb to contract and the pregnancy to be push out earlier than normal.  This method can be used up to 23 weeks into the pregnancy

The second method is known as a surgical operation.  This, simply put, is a method where the fetus is removed surgically from the mother’s womb.  This method can be performed anytime throughout the pregnancy, although it is usually done if the woman has already entered her second or third trimester.

Abortion has been a controversial topic ever since 1973 when it became legalized.  Some people believe it is the murdering of a human life and should be illegal, while others believe the life of the mother should be put before the life of fetus.  There are different methods in which it can be performed, and people have differing views on the subject.

In my next post I will be discussing funding, more specifically how and where Planned Parenthood receives their funding from.

Let's Talk Services

In my first post, I discussed the history of Planned Parenthood.  I talked about one woman who changed history by fighting the Comstock Laws (laws set in place in the early 20^th century that forbid the distribution of knowledge about birth control.) and created the National Birthcontrol League.  What started out as a small local service in Brooklyn, New York, grew into one of the largest providers of healthcare in the United States.

Now that you know all the historical facts, I would like to discuss the multitude of services that Planned Parenthood offers.

A lot of people tend to get hung up on abortion.  It is the main reason Planned Parenthood is such a controversial topic to begin with.  Yes, the organization does preform abortions.  However, abortions only cover about 3% of the services provided by Planned Parenthood.

Here is a breakdown of the services provided by Planned Parenthood, which can be found on their website.

STI/STD Testing and Treatment: This makes up the largest portion of services that Planned Parenthood provides.  This is an important part of safe sex, which is one of the main philosophies of the organization.  Planned Parenthood’s main goal is prevention, which is the purpose of STD/STI (Sexually Transmitted Disease / Sexually Transmitted Infection) testing.  However, accidents happen, and in that case, they also provide treatment for any existing STI/STDs. 

Contraception: Another large part of Planned Parenthood – actually the reason the organization was created all together.  When people think of contraception, they mainly think of two methods: condoms and birth control.  While those are the two main methods, there a ton of others.  IUDs, spermicide, even Plan B are all methods of contraception.  In total there are about 15 different methods of contraception, all which can be found at Planned Parenthood.

Other Women’s Health Services: This title here is a bit misleading.  “Other Women’s Health Services” mainly deals with pregnancies.  It does not deal with the actual “delivering” part of pregnancy – Planned Parenthood is not a hospital.  But Planned Parenthood provides things like pregnancy tests and other prenatal services.

Cancer Screening and Prevention: Because Planned Parenthood mainly deals with sexual and reproductive health, they mainly deal with cancer inflicting those areas.  As mentioned before, Planned Parenthood is in no way, shape, or form a hospital.  But yet they provide tests to see if one has cancer and prevention methods.

Abortion Services: Abortion is the deliberate termination of a pregnancy, so that the child is not born.  This service is provided for many reasons, but more often than not, the mother is not ready to have a child -- emotionally or financially.  Each state has different laws on how accessible abortion is provided.  There are also different methods of abortion, depending on how many weeks into the pregnancy the mother is.  There is an abortion pill that can be taken if it is early on in the pregnancy, or there is the surgical method used when the fetus has grown for quite a while. 

Other Services: This includes a variety of things from family practice services to adoption referrals and treatment of UTIs (Urinary Track Infections).

Planned Parenthood’s main goal is healthcare.  With over 650 locations through the United States, it is one of the nation’s top provider for quality, yet affordable healthcare for both males and females alike.

In addition to healthcare, Planned Parenthood also provides sex education for both genders.

Now you have a clear insight on exactly what goes on inside Planned Parenthood.  Since Planned Parenthood is federally funded (although many people, mostly Republicans, are trying to take that away), they are able to provide these services to people who normally would not be able to afford such a luxury.  The whole issue of eugenics was brought up in the 1920’s because poor people did not have any knowledge about birth control, and therefore were having kids they did not necessarily want. 

In my next post, I’m going to be talking more in depth about abortions.  Since I mentioned earlier, it is the main reason Planned Parenthood gets is under so much heat.  A lot of people disagree with the practice of abortion.  I will examine both sides of the issue (Pro-Life and Pro-Choice) in order for you to have a better understanding on why it is such a controversial topic.