Planned Parenthood
Jamie Williams
The debate around Planned Parenthood comes from the fact that people do not want the money they pay in federal taxes to for abortions that are offered by Planned Parenthood. Abortions, however, are only one of the many services offered by Planned Parenthoods across the country. Planned Parenthood offers services for abortion, emergency contraception (morning-after pill), general health care, HIV and STD treatments, testing, and prevention; LGBTQ services such as hormone therapy for transgender people during transition as well as support groups.
-Helps 5 million people worldwide, yearly with 2.4 million people being in the U.S.
~ 80% are 20 years old or older
- 80% is for pregnancy prevention, prevents around 560,000 pregnancies a year
- Administers 295,000 Papanicolaeua tests or Pap smears which are screenings for cervical cancer in women
- 320,000 breasts exams
- 4.2 million tests and treatments for STD’s (sexually transmitted diseases), including 650,000 HIV tests
- Provide educational programs to over 1.5 million adults and young people yearly
In 1976, the Hyde Amendment was put in place in the United States, which prohibited federal Medicaid money to be used for abortions up until 1994. In 1994, three exceptions were allowed to be added to the bill which allowed abortions if the pregnancy threatened the woman’s life or the pregnancy occurred as a result of rape or incest. While many states provide the additional funding to cover the cost of abortions, other states, such as South Dakota,will not allow federal funding for abortions even if the pregnancy is from rape or incest.
Women who are having abortions done in health centers, such as Planned Parenthood, allow women and their families to have access to health services, including contraceptive counseling, family planning services, and gynecological care. Abortion is considered one of the safest medical procedures in the United States at a ninety-nine percent survival rate. The birth control provided through Planned Parenthood greatly reduces the number of unwanted/unexpected pregnancies for women in the United States.
