Over the past several weeks, the Planned Parenthood debate has created an ideological divide in our country. Fueled by the release of several undercover videos, the debate has caused several political leaders to call for the federal defunding of Planned Parenthood. Before I begin my discussion of why the actions of Planned Parenthood warrant their defunding, I will discuss what the defunding process entails. In addition to this, I will also address several of the most common misconceptions caused by Planned Parenthood advocates.
Planned Parenthood currently receives federal funding in two distinct ways. The first is through Medicaid, which reimburses Planned Parenthood for the services it provides. The second is through a federal program called Title X. Title X awards federal grants to family planning providers in order to meet the needs of low-income families. In accordance with federal regulations, funding obtained through Title X grants cannot contribute to the practice of abortion. However, former Planned Parenthood Director Abby Johnson states, “As clinic director, I saw how money received by Planned Parenthood affiliate clinics all went into one pot at the end of the day- it isn’t divvied up and directed to specific services,” she said. Because Title X lacks an inherent sense of accountability, it is difficult to monitor how the funds it provides to Planned Parenthood are being used.
In addition to discussing individual reasons why Planned Parenthood should be defunded, it is also important to dismiss the misconceptions provided by Planned Parenthood advocates. The first, and most prominent, defense raised by advocates of Planned Parenthood is the argument of necessity. These advocates argue that without Planned Parenthood’s federal funding, low and middle-income women would lose access to primary care and contraception. However, according to the Susan B. Anthony List, “There [are] 1,048 federally qualified health centers in the U.S. which provide women cancer screening, contraception, and STI testing.” These centers provide many (and in most cases, more) of the same services that Planned Parenthood provides. Furthermore, contrary to claims made by Planned Parenthood advocates, the federal defunding of Planned Parenthood will not result in its dissolution.
The second most common argument is that the organization’s abortion services make up only a small percentage of the total services provided. While this is true to an extent (abortion services make up about three percent of the organization’s services), the statistic is also irrelevant. According to Planned Parenthood’s annual report, 327,000 abortions are performed by them per year. Asking federal taxpayers, many of which identify as pro-life, to support an organization which performs 327,000 abortions per year is inherently wrong.
When the first undercover Planned Parenthood video was released on July 14, an eruption of outrage quickly ensued. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood executive from the video, stated, “We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I’m not gonna crush that part, I’m gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.” The callousness in which she spoke was met universally with contempt. However, advocates defended Planned Parenthood by stating there was “no evidence of attempting to sell the aborted fetuses for a profit.” The following video that was released on July 21 shows a Planned Parenthood official haggling with a potential customer over the sale of fetal body parts. Although Planned Parenthood maintains they only charge for the cost that it incurs, the video points as to otherwise. The Planned Parenthood official, Dr. Mary Gatter, is seen in the video joking about her “want[ing] a Lamborghini” during the negotiations. The negotiations eventually settled with the buyer, an actor from the Center of Medical Progress, and Dr. Gatter settling at $100 for intact tissue. It is important to note that the selling of fetal body parts for profit is illegal.
Over the course of the last few weeks, the activists from the Center of Medical Progress have released several other undercover videos, each depicting equally callous and legally ambiguous situations. Because of the difficulty of monitoring the federal funds being allocated to Planned Parenthood, accompanied by the evidence that the organization is selling fetal tissue for a profit, it is time to federally defund Planned Parenthood.
