There’s been a lot of criticism of Planned Parenthood in the media lately. Leaked videos show their staff discussing the conveyance of fetal tissue for scientific research. These strategically edited videos have refueled a Republican-driven effort to defund the organization.
It is true that Planned Parenthood does perform abortions. However, abortions make up only 3% of its services.
So what’s the other 97% of the organization’s work?
Planned Parenthood provides much needed services to over 2.5 million men and women each year, including the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and preventive care.
For women, the care is life saving. The American Cancer Society predicts that over 40,000 women will die from breast cancer and over 4,000 from cervical cancer in 2015 alone. Last year, Planned Parenthood conducted 487,029 breast exams to screen for breast cancer and 378,692 pap smears to screen for cervical cancer; these screenings resulted in the early detection of cancer in nearly 88,000 women. Early intervention for cancer patients can mean the difference between life and death.
Planned Parenthood, through Title X federal funds, supports low-income patients who lack quality health-care alternatives. These funds allow women to seek family planning tools and preventative care, including cancer screenings, that they otherwise could not afford. Cutting off federal funding would mean cutting off care for millions of women who will have nowhere else to turn.
Through Planned Parenthood’s contraceptive services, the organization prevents the termination of more pregnancies than draconian anti-abortion laws. The key to preventing abortion is preventing unwanted pregnancy. Planned Parenthood provides millions of women the information and tools they need to make the reproductive decisions that are right for them. Birth control methods, such as the pill, can be extremely effective, preventing unwanted pregnancies and ultimately abortions.
Abortions have actually declined in the U.S. over the last few years; since 2010, the Associated Press reports a decline of 12%. This reduction did not just occur in states that passed anti-abortion laws; abortions dropped in almost every state. The only two states with significant increases, Michigan and Louisiana, drew women from nearby states with stricter abortion laws.
Abortions were more likely to drop in states that have not passed new restrictions; 5 of the 6 states that experienced the biggest drops were those that have not imposed anti-abortion laws.
And regarding that fetal tissue: by law, no facility, including Planned Parenthood, may profit in any way from the distribution of fetal tissue. Facilities may only be reimbursed for the cost of transferring the tissue to medical research centers. The videos leaked by anti-choice activists were edited to deceive people and cause outrage over a legal medical practice.
Why transfer medical tissue in the first place? Women who undergo an abortion procedure may choose to donate the fetal tissue. Thankfully, many do. The donated tissue has been used for numerous medical breakthroughs, including many of today’s common vaccines and the advancement of cancer research. This work has saved lives and improved the quality of care for millions of patients.
Polio is just one example. In 1954, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three scientists who used fetal tissue to discover a vaccine for this crippling disease; as a result, polio has been eradicated in the United States and much of the world.
I’m not pro-abortion. No one I know is. As a society, I believe we should do everything we can to reduce the number of abortions. More to the point, I believe we should do everything we can to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Planned Parenthood is doing just that along with providing quality treatment and health services to both men and women especially those in disadvantaged communities.
Freedom and knowledge are empowering tools for women. A woman should have the ability to choose what’s best for her, her body and her family. A woman must have accurate information and resources in order to make a sound decision.
An assault on Planned Parenthood is an assault on women’s reproductive rights and affordable healthcare, and runs counter to our common goal of reducing the number of women needing abortions.
Planned Parenthood is about much, much more than abortions – predominantly it’s about preventing abortions.