With a topsy-turvy political landscape right now, one of the only constants is the GOP’s prevalent stance on Planned Parenthood.
The Republican Party is gung-ho on defunding this controversial organization.
It’s something that almost never surprises you, like when Todd Akin says something stupid about rape, or Donald Trump’s hair looks like its going to jump off his head and into a crowd of onlookers.
Candidates, such as Jeb Bush and Scott Walker, have strongly expressed their opinions on women’s healthcare and defunding Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest women’s health group.
The funny thing about these male candidates expressing their opinions on women’s healthcare is the fact that they are male.
These men do not have uteruses and never will.
They will never experience being pregnant, giving childbirth, getting an abortion, taking birth control, etc.
Who are they to tell women what they can and can’t do with their own bodies?
Planned Parenthood helps women through pregnancies, abortions and general healthcare.
Now, believe it or not, the organization does more than abortions.
Planned Parenthood provided about 400,000 pap smears and 500,000 breast exams in 2015.
It also assists in teaching sex education to 1.5 million people.
To defund this organization would cause chaos for millions of women.
So why do these men want to defund Planned Parenthood in the first place?
Jeb Bush first stated that he believed the government spent too much money on women’s healthcare then later backtracked and said he meant that we should defund Planned Parenthood.
The Editorial Board doesn’t know if we’ve missed something here, but we don’t see a difference between the two statements.
Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona said he believes that Congress spends too much money funding Planned Parenthood as well.
He believes Planned Parenthood spends 90 percent of its funds on abortions.
However, that is actually far from the truth.
In reality, of the 11.4 million medical services provided by Planned Parenthood in 2009 only 3 percent of them were used for abortions and, to top it off, Planned Parenthood is prohibited from using its federal funding on abortions.
And if these politicians truly don’t want abortions, they sure aren’t helping by defunding women’s access to affordable birth control.
So what does it actually mean to defund Planned Parenthood, besides putting these politicians in the good graces of Republican, white men everywhere?
To defund Planned Parenthood would mean to take away women’s access to affordable healthcare services such as contraception, treatment and tests for sexually transmitted diseases, cancer screenings and other women’s health services.
These male political figures need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
The government isn’t spending too much money on women’s healthcare.
Sorry to inform you, but women comprise half of this country’s population, and talk of defunding one of their biggest healthcare providers isn’t doing much for your view in the public sphere.
And, newsflash, women have higher healthcare costs than men, and that isn’t in their control.
Defunding Planned Parenthood would only have a negative results on our society and the women in it.
How many women do you think avoided getting pregnant and having an abortion because of the birth control they received from Planned Parenthood?
How many women found out they had an STD and got the right treatment for it because of Planned Parenthood?
And beyond these medical necessities, Planned Parenthood provides a safe space for women.
By telling women that we don’t care enough about their well-being, we’re essentially saying they aren’t worth the cost.
A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office stated that 80 percent of women who went to Planned Parenthood from 2010 to 2012 were at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty line.
Now think about it — who are you really affecting by pulling this plug?
