Over this semester we will be blogging about the issues surrounding Planned Parenthood funding. The main issues with Planned Parenthood are the abortion procedures, however 97% of all services done are basic preventative care that lower-class women rely on. Our goal with this blog is to inform others of the purpose of Planned Parenthood and budget information. This will help people make their own informed decisions.
One example of where this is happening is in New Hampshire. Just last week the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to ban funding for Planned Parenthood. The majority of the support for banning funding is coming from people who do not believe taxpayers’ money should be going to the number one abortion provider. However, only about 3 percent of services actually go to abortions which are not publicly funded. On a larger scale, Planned Parenthood has also been under attack on a national level. The $75 million that the federation receives annually would be cut by Title X, a spending bill that would ban any federal funds to Planned Parenthood. The entire bill proposed by the House of Representatives would cut a total of $317 million for aid for family planning. With issues like this arising around Planned Parenthood and other family planning agencies, it is important for the public to know the facts and what services these places actually provide.
I am Kali and I do not believe that funding should be cut from Planned Parenthood. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about the services that Planned Parenthood actually provides and what is and is not funded by the government. If funding is cut from the federation, millions of women will be unable to obtain the services they need including general check ups, breast exams and STD testing. Since abortions only account for 3 percent of the services that Planned Parenthood provides and they are not paid for by the funding, there is no reason to deny the federation the money and women the services they go there for. I think it is important for people to understand the facts so they can make informed decisions about this very controversial topic.
I am Amanda and I believe that Planned Parenthood is a positive program that provides health availability and opportunity for our community and funding should remain in place. When hearing of PPH, most people assume abortion clinic. What PPH does 97% of the time is provide yearly routine Papsmeres, Mammograms, Birth Control and routine checkups to 70% of our country that cannot afford regualar health care. I believe our government is portraying PPH in a negative manner and as citizens we must become more informed on the subject so that we can take a stand in whichever side we chose to believe in. Just consider this, our country deficit is 1.5 trillion dollars, PPH accounts for 300k dollars. That isn't a dent in our budget and it is beneficial for 70% of our poverty strucken women who desprately need health care.
I am Gina and I agree with Kali and Amanda that Planned Parenthood should not have their fundings cut. This is an important program where women and MEN of all ages are relying on their services. The government is taking away something crucial in there lives and they are not going to be able to receive their regular services anymore. Planned Parenthood is much more than taking care of a women's and men's physical problems, but they are also there for emotional support. Planned Parenthood deals with women and men that are confused about their body images and their sexual orientation. The people working at Planned Parenthood are trying to educate both sexes on important body heath issues. They are reaching out to people who may never have had someone else to talk about these private things with them. Also, Planned Parenthood are screening for cancers which is taking a toll on a large number of our society. This organization is providing such a wide range of services for people who truly need them and if funding is completely denied, men and women are going to be left with no where else to turn to.
