Planned Parenthood

[draggonlaady]

For those of you who already got this in your email, sorry for the duplication.

Hey everybody. I don't mass-mail very often, and even less about political stuff, but this is something I actually give a rip about. I don't know how many of you have used Planned Parenthood in the past, but they were my primary source of medical care for years during college. (And that's a lot of years!) This bill is absolute trash, and I'm disgusted that the House passed it.
I sign "open letters" and petitions about as often as I email you all political stuff, but for whatever good it'll do, I signed this one.
The people behind this farce claim it's supposed to be targeted at abortions, but that's crap. So whatever your feelings on abortion, please take a minute to ponder your feelings on cervical cancer, breast cancer, base-line health care, read the following and consider clicking the link at the end to sign the letter:

By law, federal funds haven’t paid for abortions since the 1970s, so the House hasn’t voted to cut abortion funding. They’re cutting funding for the entire Title X program — funding for contraception, cancer screening, STI tests, sex education, mammograms, HIV testing and diagnosis, and pregnancy screening and counseling. Title X is the only federal program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and preventive health services, particularly low-income families. Last year, 5 million people benefited from the services funded by Title X.

Planned Parenthood is the target of this legislation, and American women the primary victims. This isn’t about abortion — it’s about cutting access to health care for women. One in five American women has used Planned Parenthood’s services. The vast majority of care — more than 90% — offered at Planned Parenthood health centers is preventative. Every year, Planned Parenthood carries out nearly one million screenings for cervical cancer — screenings which save lives. Every year, Planned Parenthood doctors and nurses give more than 830,000 breast exams — exams which save lives. Every year, nearly 2.5 million patients receive contraception from Planned Parenthood — a service which prevents enormous numbers of unintended pregnancies and, by extension, an enormous number of abortions. Every year, Planned Parenthood administers nearly 4 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV — tests and treatments which save lives, extend lives, preserve fertility, and maintain reproductive health.

https://secure.ppaction.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=pp_ppol_ws_I_Stand_with_PP&s_src=istandwithPP_home

Comments

[jacksontwobears.livejournal.com]

I am a proponent of Planned Parenthood.
I have been using their services for nearly eight years now.

Annual cervical exams, breast exams, STI testing, and birth control are all things that I have personally used and feel that are necessary evils that all women should have available to them.

I also fall in to the category of women who have needed additional funding to help pay for the exams, and prescriptions I've received.

I know that many people do not agree with abortion.
I'm one of them.
But I also believe that, in many circumstances, it is not only a viable option but the most appropriate. Instances of rape, incest, and when the baby/mother's life is in danger (ectopic pregnancy, for example) are times when abortion should be made available to women who need them.
My disagreement with abortion stems from the women who use abortion as a method of birth control. Not only is it insanely expensive, it's also a very dangerous procedure and should only be used in rare cases.

I know people who have had one.
I don't hold that against them. It's pointless.

I think that abortion should be a private decision between a woman and her doctor. I don't think that the government has a right to dictate who can or cannot receive a medical procedure.

I understand that these procedures are costly, but isn't there something that states that medical personal have to administer care without regard for payment in time-sensitive situations?

And thank you for taking the time to pass this on.

[draggonlaady.livejournal.com]

Actually, there are laws on the books stating that a doctor or nurse with "moral reservations" about it doesn't have to perform the procedure at all. Tangential to this bill, though, as this ganks funding from non-abortion programs, and can be expected to eff-up all those low-cost pap smears and cervical exams that Planned Parenthood offers, and that even "good chaste Christian women" should be getting, as they are recommended for all women, sexually active or not. And that's the bulk of what PP offers; abortion services are (depending on source) less than 5% or less than 3% of what PP does...so what the fine, upstanding Reps are really doing with this bill is pulling the carpet out from under the major source of preventative care for low-income women across the nation. Really classy, yeah?

[jacksontwobears.livejournal.com]

Why become a doctor, apply to a place like Planned Parenthood, go through all the motions, and then say, "Nah, I don't feel that it's right."?

Seems an awful waste of time, money, and energy to me.

And I agree that this bill pulls the carpet out from people like you and me.
Sensible women who just want to make sure their bodies are in good health.

[draggonlaady.livejournal.com]

I think the people who would be taking advantage of that loophole probably don't work at PP. However, the only hospitals anywhere near me are all Catholic run, so it's damn near impossible to get a tubal ligation, etc unless I go to Spokane (50 miles) and hit PP there, because all the major hospitals in Spokane are ALSO Catholic. Yay.

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't worry much about what the House does. Even when they pass bills this stupid--and it's not unusual for them to do so--this bill won't make it through the Senate, and it would face an instant veto if it did.

[draggonlaady.livejournal.com]

They still deserve to be overwhelmed with people's outrage for their gross stupidity.