DefendPP

[plannedparenthooddefender-blog]

SIX in TEN women that use facilities such as Planned Parenthood consider it their main source of health care. The defunding of Planned Parenthood would leave over 2.5 MILLION people without their primary source of health care.

Why are we treating health care like it is a luxury? Why is access to affordable/low cost health care being threatened to be ripped away from those who need it so desperately? 

It would be impossible for neighboring clinics to accommodate for the millions of people that would be left without a primary care center if Planned Parenthood were to be defunded. (http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2015/09/08/quantifying-planned-parenthoods-critical-role-in-meeting-the-need-for-publicly-supported-contraceptive-care/)

There are not nearly enough facilities, general practitioners or gynecologists in America that would be able to deal with the overflowing amounts of patients that would be left with nowhere to go if Planned Parenthood was no longer an option.

There was a study done in Texas that tracked the results from a cut in funding at Planned Parenthood and other clinics alike. (http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Texas-pregnancy-related-deaths-double-9172022.php)

In relation to this study, IStandWithPP.org says it “found that pregnancy-related deaths doubled after the state stopped reimbursing Planned Parenthood and imposed stringent funding cuts for women’s health — and 54% fewer patients in the state received care.” Now this is only one study in one state, but I know I would not like to see a trend of this. Pregnancy related-deaths can sometimes be avoidable if the woman is seen by a medical professional. There is no reason that women should be dying because they do not have access to a nearby, affordable clinic. 

Politicians want people to believe that defunding Planned Parenthood is in everyone’s best interest, but that is incorrect. They are not taking in account for the millions of people that would lose their safety net, PPFA, and have absolutely nowhere else to go. Since most Planned Parenthood clinics are in “rural and underserved communities”, these individuals are cast away to figure out what they are going to do without their primary doctor.

Health care coverage should NOT be a privilege. 

Health care NEEDS to be a HUMAN RIGHT.

[plannedparenthooddefender-blog]

Planned Parenthood does not kill children. 

They do not sell the body parts of fetuses for money. 

Planned Parenthood is very careful with the way they perform their medical procedures, and they take every precaution that they can to ensure their patient is receiving excellent care.

Legal abortions are safe abortions. Outlawing abortions would cause desperate women to take extreme measures that could potentially be life threatening. 

Abortions are performed on fetuses up to a certain point, depending on the state you live in, and late-term abortions are only performed if the mother’s life is in imminent danger. 

Fetuses are not children. They are cells that are developing, but they are not yet children. 

If those “7 million children”  that were aborted were, in fact born, would they be born to loving, nurturing, caring families with the means to raise a child? Or would they be abandoned after being brought into this world to fall through the cracks in foster care? 

In Planned Parenthood’s 2014-2015 annual report, they write: “We advocated Congress to reject a ban on abortion at 20 weeks because while woman should not have to justify their personal medical decisions, the reality that abortion later in pregnancy is very rare and often happens under very complex circumstances. We lifted up the real-life stories of women and families to remind lawmakers and voters that abortion is a complicated, personal decision that should be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor - not her lawmaker.” (https://issuu.com/actionfund/docs/2014-2015_annual_report_final_20mb)

Women should not have abide by what lawmakers say that she can and cannot do with her body. If abortions are going to be made illegal, we should work more rigidly on informing people about the importance of contraceptives, while providing them with reliable resources, such as Planned Parenthood.

[plannedparenthooddefender-blog]

“Keep your rosaries off my ovaries” !!!

When did we lose sight of the separation between church and state? 

The difference between pro-choice and pro-life is one thing:  One group believes it is important for each individual to chose what they feel is right in that situation, and the other group believes the way that they think is right is how others should also behave.

Usually, those who claim to be pro-life are usually practicing Christians. Although the Bible doesn’t specifically state it does not condone abortion, it does interfere with some of the things that God deems morally “wrong”. Christians do not believe it is a woman’s right to chose, because God willed the baby to be born, and to interfere with his plan by terminating a pregnancy is in violation of Exodus 21:22–25, that says if a pregnant woman is hit and harm is caused to the baby, the person must suffer the consequences.

... An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life...

Despite the fact that there are many stages of gestation, from the moment of conception, pro-lifers believe that a fetus is a person. That it is a child. It is breathing and growing, so therefore, it is a human being. I do not necessarily agree with this. A fetus does not know its own existence. It cannot make the decision of life or death itself, and life will go on with or without the fetus. I feel comfort in knowing the fact that if I were to accidentally conceive, I could terminate the fetus. I would not do this out of spite, or because I do not have morals, but because I DO have morals. I do not want a child, so I will not have one. I would prefer to be safe from the start and do everything I can to prevent pregnancy, but sometimes birth control can fail. Abortion is a last resort for women that know they will not be able to provide for a child. It would not be acceptable to impose a law that would force women to birth children that they never wanted in the first place.

I think it is unrealistic to have a pro-life view, because abortion has been around for decades. If abortion begins to be outlawed and Planned Parenthoods are defunded, this will only cause woman to travel elsewhere to access these services. This could also increase the likelihood of women getting late-term abortions. Pro-life advocates place impractical expectations upon women with whom they have no business doing so. This includes those individuals that chose to spend their weekends standing outside of local Planned Parenthood clinics, picketing to strangers that go inside (they don’t even know why each person is seeing someone at PP) about how abortion is murder and God is displeased.

A few weeks ago, while on my way to my local Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia, I saw a group of people standing outside of the Planned Parenthood attempting to talk to those walking in and walking by. It was about 11 AM on a Friday, overcast and raining, and these few people stood there under umbrellas, wearing ponchos and handing out pamphlets. 

As I got closer, I saw that they also had a sign standing next to them on the street. It had a picture of Jesus’s face on it, so I assumed they were outside of the Planned Parenthood attempting to explain why, because of their religion, they think that abortion is wrong.

I peacefully walked by with my headphones in, and one woman, in a yellow poncho and dark black sunglasses tried to hand me a pamphlet. I walked right by and inside the building for my appointment. It wasn’t a terrible exchange, but I was not interested in what she had to say. In my heart, I truly think that every person is entitled to their own opinion. Including her. But I do not think that people should try to push their belief down others’ throats, especially when men try to tell women that they cannot terminate an unwanted pregnancy. 

[plannedparenthooddefender-blog]

A common misconception about Planned Parenthood is that the majority of services provided to patients are abortions. Planned Parenthood does incredible work for low costs to even no cost for women AND men that need it the most. 

Although Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the world (NPR), they offer a lot more services than that. In Planned Parenthood’s 2014-2015 annual report they said, “In 2015, some insurance companies denied birth control coverage or required women to pay out-of-pocket for their birth control... In clear defiance of the Affordable Care Act.” (https://issuu.com/actionfund/docs/2014-2015_annual_report_final_20mb)

It is outrageous that woman are being denied the services that they have a right to access for low-cost, if not for free. Contraceptives such as an IUD can cost anywhere from $500-$900, according to Planned Parenthood’s Tumblr blog. (http://plannedparenthood.tumblr.com/post/28521852221/how-much-does-an-iud-cost)

Planned Parenthood works with each individual based on their income and adjust the cost of care accordingly. From personal experience, when I went to Planned Parenthood for an IUD, I was planning on paying a couple hundred dollars after my copay and fees left over that insurance wouldn’t cover. Before my visit, I met with a receptionist who asked me my annual income. I told her I made a measly $15,000 last year as a part time server, which put me at a 400% poverty rate according to my chart that I happened to glance at while the nurse wasn’t looking. Before getting my ParaGard inserted, I kindly asked the nurse if she knew how much my visit was going to cost. She left the room and came back 10 seconds later to tell me I would owe nothing. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised. I am extremely grateful that I was able to go to Planned Parenthood and get the contraceptive that I wanted without having to pay a penny.

Access to birth control for people like myself is crucial. I do not plan on getting pregnant any time soon, and I wanted a long lasting birth control that did not have hormones. Since I was able to get an IUD, I will be protected for up to 12 years. Now for 12 years I will never have to worry about an unwanted pregnancy occurring. I won’t have to make the difficult decision of if I want to terminate an unwanted pregnancy or not. The first step to trying to limit the amount of abortions is providing more affordable and realistic forms of birth control that isn’t to simply abstain from sex. We should encourage people to practice safe sex and explore their options, instead of shaming individuals that chose to have abortions after they become pregnant, no fault of their own. Men should also take responsibility and take precautionary methods before having intercourse with a woman. Conversations about birth control need to be normalized. Only then will we be closer to reducing the amount of unplanned pregnancies, in turn, reducing the amount of abortions.