The details of President Trump’s new health care plan have slowly been making their way into the media, giving information on coverage and policies that will replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) over the next few years. It includes proposals such as big tax cuts for the rich by slashing Medicaid (which insures 74 million Americans), assuring Americans that they do not require health insurance and ending the ACA’s formerly essential health benefits. These are only some points of Trump’s healthcare plan, named the American Health Care Act (AHCA), but one of the biggest takeaways found within the fine print is the slashing of funds for Planned Parenthood’s funds.
Planned Parenthood, an organization dedicated to sexual education and health of men and women, is no stranger to criticism and controversy. The group has been included in debates for years, including persecution by religious groups, declined funds and its clinics being shut down in many states. Since Trump’s campaign run was announced, one of the biggest points that helped drive his supporters was his promise to defund Planned Parenthood, citing the issue of the offered service of abortion. This is where the AHCA meets with Planned Parenthood; within the proposals is one that says the government will allow funding by health care companies for Planned Parenthood to continue, but only if the organization stops the abortion services it is best known for.
However, anyone that even mildly follows the ongoing debate on Planned Parenthood would immediately find inaccuracies within this proposal. Planned Parenthood, despite being most well known for offering abortion services, only does about three percent of the service a year. Other services include contraception plans, which take up 34 percent, and STI/STD testing and treatment are 42 percent, as well as screenings for different types of cancer that can target reproductive organs. To cut off an entire organization from healthcare funding due to something that takes up less than five percent of services is despicable, considering Planned Parenthood outreaches to over five million women and men. In fact, one in five women will visit a Planned Parenthood clinic at least once in her life.
The biggest misconception that stirs most of the debate, however, is the claim that Planned Parenthood receives federal funding with the tax dollars of American citizens — even those who do not agree with the services the organization provides. This could be a valid reasoning, since those who do not agree with abortions would not want their tax money going towards the service. However, Planned Parenthood in fact does not receive any federal funding, as mandated by the Hyde Amendment implemented in 1976 that states abortions may not be funded federally unless under the cases of incest or rape. Most of Planned Parenthood’s funding comes from Medicaid reimbursements purposefully used for preventative care, as determined by Title X, a federal grant program that provides individuals with family planning and other related services. According to Planned Parenthood itself, 60 percent of the organization’s patients rely on Medicaid and Title X to afford services such as contraception.
Cutting off Planned Parenthood from these reimbursements already supported by Medicaid would be a direct attack on the reproductive health of millions of women and men, whether it be for preventing pregnancy or treating an STI/STD. The circumstances of one’s visit should not matter, anyhow; services for abortions are just as valid as services for STD screenings, because it signifies individual choice in a country where such should be allowed.
President Trump’s misleading information and rhetoric, churned by pro-life and commonly right-wing supporters, only creates a hostile environment surrounding a very personal and often painful choice for thousands of women. Slashing Planned Parenthood will only do more harm than good; not supporting abortions will not prevent them from happening, but only make them more unsafe. Taking away confidential and supportive services for breast cancer screenings and choosing a contraceptive will take away opportunities to make other very personal choices. To say defunding Planned Parenthood is not the answer is not even an accurate assertion on the issue, and what needs to be recognized more is that America’s new president does not respect these choices, in a time where the debate of choice should not even be debated.
