Introduction
According to Lawrence and Ness (2017, p.443), Planned Parenthood has been serving the American community for over 100 years, particularly those who need accessible, safe, and affordable care. Every year, the program delivers universal and high-quality health services to over 2.5 million men and women in cities, hospitals, and states throughout the United States. Despite Planned Parenthood's significant role, the initiative has faced widespread resistance in recent years, with Congress focusing on preventing the government from funding it. The American Congress, on the other hand, has vehemently opposed the decision, claiming that it jeopardizes the welfare of women, men, and families. Therefore, the organization is one of the largest providers of family planning services and health care to a vast number of women in the United States, and the government should continue to provide funds to the program.
Legislative Attacks on Planned Parenthood
Legislators from both state and federal levels launched attacks on the Planned Parenthood organization with numerous requests to conduct a massive audit of the program. Other lawmakers have demanded the total defunding of the program which has sparked a debate. In 2015, a proposal was presented before the U.S Congress to stop government funds for the program. However, the advocates of the organization have responded criticizing these attacks. The program started by Margaret Sanger has always been condemned since its inception with the legal system placing limitations on Planned Parenthood. Those against the organization fail to appreciate the crucial services that the program provides such as preventive care and other forms of primary health care (Primrose, p.167). They attack the program on the basis that it is an abortion provider. However, these services only form about three percent of the operations of the organization, and they are not funded by the federal government. Planned Parenthood receives other funding from several donors that are directed to support the reproductive health including abortion services. In addition, the program received only a third of its finances from the government which was used for services such as family planning, immunizations, cancer screening, pap smears, testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and other forms of preventive care. Therefore, the funds from the government should continue to be directed to Planned Parenthood in order to provide these essential services.
Essential Role in Healthcare
The organization provides essential health care services for a significant number of women who have no access to other sources of healthcare. Primrose (2012, p.167) writes that the clinics under the program work in rural areas where they attend to both men and women who otherwise would not be able to receive the services of qualified health providers. Therefore, the organization plays an essential role in healthcare that the government should focus on promoting through the provision of funds. The attacks that are directed to Planned Parenthood program have hidden agendas that are past the budget cutting and abortion calls. These attacks are part of an extensive attack towards reproductive freedom. The controversies on the government funding are based on the connection of the organization to issues of sex, contraception, and abortion (Primrose, p.187). The pro-life groups have propagated proposals against the program to both federal and state governments to stop their funding. The move by these individuals is a determination to paralyze the access to abortion care. However, ending the government funding for Planned Parenthood means that their health clinics would be excluded from providing services to their patients by reducing their access to primary and preventive care services. According to Lawrence and Ness (2017, P.443), 390,000 women would no longer have access to these vital facilities and more than 650,000 would have access to low-quality preventive health care services in a year.
Importance of Other Health Services
Silver and Kapadia (2017, p.1040) argues that abortion is not the primary work of the organizations as more than half of the program’s revenues are directed towards offering health services while others are used for non-medical services such as public policy work makeup and sex education. Other services include fundraising, management expenses, and international family planning operations. Lawrence and Ness (2017, p.443) argue that through the organization's health centers about a significant number of unintended pregnancies are prevented in a year. Also, there are 400,000 pap tests and 500,000 breast exams in a year which are crucial services for detecting cancer. Planned Parenthood also offers HIV testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases to more than 4.5 million Americans. Therefore, there is a beneficial impact that is attached to the program that is received by poor men and women particularly those of color as they cannot afford the private care. Furthermore, there are areas where the Planned Parenthood clinics are the only family planning centers for citizens who rely on subsidized services and without these services the clients suffer. Therefore, the government should continue to support the Planned Parenthood program with finances in order to offer quality services to these women.
Impact of Defunding
Withdrawing government funding from Planned Parenthood would cause the organization to collapse causing unemployment to hundreds of people who are currently employed in the team. According to Lawrence and Ness (2017, p.443), the program has both primary care physicians and obstetrician-gynecologists working to provide quality services. Besides, there are millions of people from the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community who rely on the organization's services. Typically, this group feels stigmatized when getting healthcare services from other agencies especially those that are affiliated with a specific religion. Finally, the government should continue funding Planned Parenthood because politicians have no right to dictate what women decide with their private healthcare services. Like the male gender who can access services and products whenever they need them, the women as well have a right to determine what happens to their body and be able to get full access to the services they choose to use and the program has made it easier for them to access contraceptives despite the limited resources.
Conclusion
Planned Parenthood health clinics contribute significantly to the U.S healthcare sector as they provide reproductive services to both men and women. However, there are concerns about the abortion services that the organization offers which have brought up calls to the government to defund the program. Defunding the program would result in loss of primary and reproductive health services that are a threat to public health of communities throughout the U.S especially among the under-resourced counties. Therefore, the public health community needs to focus on protecting the Planned Parenthood programs against the defunding efforts. These attacks threaten the health of women and men who have a right to access safe and affordable reproductive health care including abortions. The attacks can be considered to limit the reproductive rights of women by the politicians and the special interest groups.
Works Cited
Lawrence, H C, and D L. Ness. “Planned Parenthood Provides Essential Services That Improve Women’s Health.” Annals of Internal Medicine. 166.6 (2017): 443-444. Print.
Primrose, S. “The Attack on Planned Parenthood: A Historical Analysis.” UCLA Women’s Law Journal. 19.2. (2012): 165-211. Print.
Silver, D, and F Kapadia. “Planned Parenthood Is Health Care, and Health Care Must Defend It: a Call to Action.” American Journal of Public Health. 107.7 (2017): 1040-1041. Print.
