Going into this upcoming election season, packed
with debates and interviews, it is obvious that the GOP and the Democratic
Party are split on the intensely debated topic of Planned Parenthood and
abortion. Planned Parenthood is non-profit organization that, “delivers
vital reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of
women, men, and young people worldwide.” Cecile Richards, the President of Planned Parenthood,
has been fighting off critics of their mission for the nine years she has held
her position as President. Richards was recently drilled by House Republicans
in regards to “the
organization’s use of federal funds.”
This issue was brought to light following the
release of a series of videos made by Center of Medical Progress, an anti-
abortion group. The series of videos aimed to convince people that Planned
Parenthood was selling the tissues and organs of aborted fetuses. The videos
skewed the truth which is that women who choose to, can donate the fetus’s tissues
for medical research. Additionally, the Center of Medical Progress accused Planned
Parenthood executives of using federal fund for lavish parties. Following these mischaracterizations, the House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called for a congressional
hearing. They did so as these videos sparked them to threaten to shut down the
government over the federal funding of Planned Parenthood. The sad fact
of all of this, is that abortion only makes up for 3% of all the services
provided by Planned Parenthood and an abortion cannot be federally funded. The
threat posed by House Republicans ultimately threatened to take healthcare away
from millions of woman who otherwise could not afford it. The GOP threatened to
shut down an organization that provides so much healthcare and health education
to their target demographic, low-income and financially disadvantaged women. Richards
said, “We provide really, really good health care for Medicaid
patients, and we’re proud of that…”
Cecile Richards was grilled for nearly 5 hours during
the Congressional hearing, by a predominantly male committee, over the issues
of abortion, federal funding, and women’s reproductive rights in general. Steve
Russell, a Representative from Oklahoma said, “We’ve heard testimony today
that 2.7 million received services in the last reported year…it is actually
over three million, when you add the three hundred and twenty-seven thousand
aborted children to that figure.” The House seems to be fixated on abortion as they
attempted to defund Planned Parenthood altogether. They look past all the other
services provided by this organization due to the fact that they can’t look
beyond the abortions they provide. The GOP leaders are hoping to scare Americans
into defunding this program, but in reality they are fighting against the women’s
right to choose.
This issue connects to this class as it is probably the most hotly
debated women’s rights issue of this decade. Similarly, The Handmaid’s Tale, depicts a dystopian future where women struggle to
obtain reproductive rights, or any rights at all. This story shows how women continue
to struggle for their rights and how a future, like the one in The Handmaid’s Tale, isn’t that far off from
our reality.
Discussion Questions:
Should the government be involved with women’s
healthcare and reproductive rights? Why or why not?
With the House of Representatives being majority
Republican and the potential for a Republican President following the 2016
election, what do you think the future holds for Planned Parenthood?
What would be an alternative for Planned Parenthood?
Links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/us/politics/planned-parenthood-congress-republicans.html?_r=0
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/08/12/for-planned-parenthood-abortion-stats-3-percent-and-94-percent-are-both-misleading/
http://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/cecile-richards-the-target-at-the-planned-parenthood-hearings
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/planned-parenthood-congress-hearing_560af940e4b0dd8503099da7
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/planned-parenthood-cecile-richards_560b37f2e4b0768126ffc92c
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/
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