Recently there has been discussion that, while planning this upcoming year’s budget, Republicans in Congress started the ball rolling to stop using taxpayer money to fund Planned Parenthood. Due to Republicans and Democrats being so divided over the issue, a potential government shutdown is looking like a possibility within the next few weeks.
In 2013 the government went through a temporary shutdown when Republicans caused a standstill in an attempt to stop funding for the Affordable Care Act. While Republicans are hesitant to cause another shutdown, the ultra-conservative members of the Tea Party are pressuring Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner (who will step down from the position in October) into being more aggressive towards conservative policies with the president. One of the policies they are pushing for is the defunding of Planned Parenthood.
Overall, I cannot help but think this is not something that is going to pass, even if a shutdown does occur.
The Tea Party is an ultra-conservative political group in a country that is increasingly liberal with each coming generation. The Supreme Court events of this summer show that the government is beginning to takes a more liberal approach to moral issues that have been plaguing campaigns and Congress for years now. While most liberals stand firmly in the pro-choice arena, the pro-life conservatives have been voicing the concerns even louder after the anti-abortion propaganda film Human Capital was released that supposedly proved that Planned Parenthood was illegally selling fetal tissue for research.
While Planned Parenthood has apologized for some of the comments their employees used in the film (which was created using a hidden camera), research into Planned Parenthood has proven that they have not broken the laws the video accuses them of breaking. The video makers have also been accused of editing their videos to make the organization look worse than it is.
Planned Parenthood is something that needs to stay, whether conservatives back it or not. Abortions only account for 2 percent of the services offered by Planned Parenthood. STD testing and treatment, contraception, cancer screenings, and other women’s health services are all vital services provided in their clinics. Anti-abortion supporters are quick to demonize Planned Parenthood because they seem caught up in this one service, but we need to grow up and realize this is a non-negotiable service.
If a woman suffers rape, incest, or is putting her own life in danger by being pregnant, there need to be options for that woman; the pregnancy cannot be forced on her. Even if none of those conditions are present, if a woman feels as though having a child is not a current possibility for her, she should not have to go forward with a pregnancy.
Many people argue that rather than getting an abortion, a person should give their child up for adoption.
This is not as easy as people claim for it to be. If the fetus shows signs of being disabled, the mother does not match the adoptive parent’s idea of good genetics, or if maybe just no one seems to be interested in that woman’s fetus, people are not going to adopt a baby that easily. They are going to make sure the baby they would be committed to for the rest of their life is as perfect as it can be, and no child is perfect.
If America wants to continue taking progressive steps, then we need to accept that abortion is something that will be present for a long time to come.
Defunding or eliminating Planned Parenthood would be the antithesis of progress.
Ultimately, if you are against abortions, then do not go out and get an abortion.
Do not, however, take away another woman’s right to choose her fate just because you are opposed to a decision that she makes.
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