If only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services are abortion-related, what do they do the rest of the time? It is not an abortion factory. Yet the conservative Congress hates, let me say that again, hates Planned Parenthood. They hate it so much they voted to defund the whole organization on Monday.
Of course, there were not enough votes to pass it; Democrats blocked it. Had it passed, President Obama would have vetoed the bill. But where do conservatives want people who cannot afford private health care to go?
The antiabortion group, Center for Medical Progress (CMP), produced four highly edited propaganda videos. They would have us believe Planned Parenthood doctors sit around eating salads and discussing selling fetus tissue most of the time. Of course, that is wrong.
Fortunately the National Abortion Federation sued CMP and its founder, David Daleiden in San Francisco federal court over his undercover videos.
The lawsuit claims that this is a campaign which,
“…violates its members’ privacy and threatens their safety. The lawsuit seeks a court order halting further releases of videos containing names, addresses, and other private information about NAF (National Abortion Federation) members, including information drawn from the group’s meetings.”
So let’s see what this women’s clinic actually does with its remaining 97 percent of time:
Breast Exams
Planned Parenthood performed half of a million breast exams in 2013, which is the last year that numbers are available. These exams, while no fun, are imperative for detecting early cancers. The organization also teaches women how to do their own self-exams.
Pap Tests
Planned Parenthood performed 400,000 pap tests in 2013. These tests can find pre-cancerous cells. Without Planned Parenthood, low-income or uninsured women would have no place to go for preventive and reproductive health care.
Pregnancy Prevention
Thanks to Planned Parenthood, over half a million pregnancies were prevented. Not all people can practice abstinence, so the organization provides free and affordable birth-control measures such as the pill, condoms, and IUDs. They also provide Plan B pills, which prevent pregnancies. Contrary to popular beliefs, these pills do not terminate pregnancies. They prevent the sperm from fertilizing the egg.
Prevent And Treat STD’s
Planned Parenthood gave 4.5 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections (STI’s), and that includes HIV treatment. Yes, HIV is scary, but it is not the only unpleasant STI. Some can lead to cancer.
Educates Pregnant Women
You wouldn’t know it, listening to high-level conservatives, but Planned Parenthood educates women about all of their pregnancy options. Two of those options are giving a baby up for adoption and keeping the child. Women often choose one of these two options. Just know that after giving birth and seeing your baby for the first time, it is exceedingly difficult to give her up for adoption.
Private Health Care Not Available
So what do these ultra-conservatives want? Would they have women who cannot afford private health care contract breast and cervical cancer? Do they want us to get pregnant even if we do not want or cannot afford to have another child? They want us pregnant even if it means losing our life? They would even want to take away our access to information – our choice – be that keeping the baby, giving her up to adoption, or something else.
Millions of people count on Planned Parenthood for very real, life-saving affordable health care. Surely we can agree about offering these low-cost health care examinations, tests, and preventive measures – whether we are pro-life or pro-choice.
Let’s all be pro-health.
h/t Upworthy.com
