The new battlefield in the war for women is Planned Parenthood.
A congressional hearing began Tuesday to decide whether to halt federal funding of the organization. This suggestion rose from a series of highly edited videos that showed Planned Parenthood distributing fetal body parts.
Now, hopefully this doesn’t come as a shock to you, but yes, the liberal, sex-positive sex columnist is a big supporter of Planned Parenthood. To be quite frank, I don’t give a flying f**k that it "sells" body parts or that it performs abortions.
Personally, I don’t know what I would do without Planned Parenthood. As a freshman who wanted to go on the birth control pill without using my parent’s insurance, Planned Parenthood was there for me.
Like many individuals who use Planned Parenthood’s services, I didn’t have a lot of money to spend, and I couldn’t easily access places far from home. But I was able to take public transportation and walk to the clinic, and I was able to afford the $65 appointment and $25 monthly fee for my prescription.
We’re very lucky to have a Planned Parenthood in Gainesville. The staff there is incredibly helpful, kind and knowledgeable. If it wasn’t for Planned Parenthood, I wouldn’t be having the safe sex I have now because I wouldn’t be able to afford to pay out-of-pocket for my birth control.
Many clients owe their health to Planned Parenthood. The company saves lives by performing breast exams and detecting cancer early for those who might not have health insurance. It protects individuals from pregnancy by prescribing contraceptives at a low cost, and when a client does get pregnant, it offers tests and family-planning services.
Planned Parenthood gives sexually transmitted infection tests so patients can take their health into their own hands, and most offer free condoms in the lobby so everyone has the ability to stay safe. Everything it does often winds up benefiting lower-income individuals the most. And yes, often college students like us. Yet, Planned Parenthood is only seen as an abortion provider.
Which is true. It does provide abortions, which make up 3 percent of its total services. Just 3 percent. Is that number worth defunding an important health care resource for many Americans?
No, it’s not. But honestly, it wouldn’t be worth defunding Planned Parenthood even if abortion made up 100 percent of its services. Planned Parenthood deserves funding, regardless if it offers abortion services.
People are going to get abortions no matter what. People got abortions before it was legal — in back alleyways and in illegal "doctor’s" offices. Making abortion illegal, making abortion inaccessible by closing down clinics, won’t stop abortion. It will only make it more dangerous. All defunding Planned Parenthood will do is limit the choices Americans have as far as their health and force them to make dangerous decisions — not getting screened for cancer, not taking medicine to treat an STI or even, yes, not terminating a pregnancy they cannot support.
I stand with Planned Parenthood because I believe in bodily autonomy. I believe my body should have the right to choose — like how dead people aren’t forced to donate life-saving organs, or how people aren’t forced to donate life-saving blood.
I stand with Planned Parenthood because my health matters to me and because I want to have health care options that are affordable and easily accessible.
I stand with Planned Parenthood because I and all citizens have the right to make our own choices regarding health care and who we want to take care of us.
I stand with Planned Parenthood because the decision of whether to have an abortion is between me, my partner and my doctor.
I stand with Planned Parenthood because I know donating fetal body parts helps doctors study genes and find cures for disease and illness.
I’m on Planned Parenthood’s side in this war: Where do you stand?
Robyn Smith is a UF journalism senior. Her column appears on Fridays.
