Editor,
During the last year, in the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election, women’s rights have taken a front seat in the news and media. Democrats and Republicans alike have used this issue to further their political agenda. This frenzy has been dubbed “The War on Women.”
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has repeatedly claimed that he would have, on his first day in office, cut all funding to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). Planned Parenthood receives 46 percent of its funding from the federal government. Pro-life advocates have rallied in favor of this measure, but we must ask ourselves how this would truly affect everyday American women and men.
Planned Parenthood provides a wide variety of crucial health services to men and women, most of whom are low income. In 2009-10 alone, Planned Parenthood served 3 million patients, provided 11 million services and 5 million clinic visits. These services include providing birth control, STD testing, cancer screenings, vasectomies, adoption consultations, etc.
Yet Romney and pro-life advocates want Planned Parenthood to lose federal funding simply because the organization also provides abortion services. The loss of half of its funding would effectively cripple Planned Parenthood, and 3 million individuals would lose affordable access to crucial medical care. Is it moral or ethical behavior to deprive millions of Americans of affordable reproductive health care simply because you do not agree with one of Planned Parenthood’s services?
Pro-life Americans argue that their tax money going to abortions violates their conscience and is thus a violation of their morals and human rights. However, the Hyde Amendment effectively prohibits federal funding from going to abortions, and Planned Parenthood therefore funnels all federal aid into areas that are not abortion related. Therefore pro-life individuals’ tax money is not being spent on abortion.
It is also worth noting that only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services performed from 2009-10 were abortions. This means that Romney would deprive 3 million Americans of PPFA services because a meager 3 percent of services performed are abortions. Take a moment and ask yourself this question: Is it moral and ethical to effectively shut down Planned Parenthood and deprive 3 million Americans access to STD and cancer screenings because you disagree with 3 percent of its services?
Sarah Martinez
Daily Lobo reader
