Should The Government Defund Planned Parenthood - 1693 Words

Should the Government Defund Planned Parenthood? About a century ago, a small birth-control clinic was opened by Margaret Sanger in Brooklyn, New York. Women and families travelled to this clinic to learn about contraceptives and the perils of self-administered abortions. This was unheard of at the time, to teach a woman how to stop pregnancy in a world where the highest aspiration of a woman was supposed to become a mother. However, very soon after this clinic opened, Sanger was put incarcerated for illegally distributing contraceptives. This clinic would become known as Planned Parenthood, the leader in promoting sexual health in the United States. Despite the essentialness of Planned Parenthood, many conservatives in the government†¦show more content†¦According to Bryce Covert and Mike Konczal’s article, â€Å"Born, Not Free,† the government funds constitute about $500 million of the $1.1 billion total Planned Parenthood receives in funding. However, the money coming from the government cannot legal ly be used towards the administration of abortion, which is the main topic of controversy. Politicians who are in favor of defunding argue that by giving money to the facility whose services are in part constituted by abortion, those funds are essentially being given in support of abortions. On the contrary, though Planned Parenthood has come to be known as a symbol for abortion, abortion constitutes only 3% of the services provided. According to Nancy Gibbs, a managing editor for TIME magazine, the other 97% is made up of â€Å"family planning, immunizations and screening for cancer and sexually transmitted diseases† (Gibbs). Due to the funding from the government, Planned Parenthood is able to provide the aforementioned inexpensive yet crucial services to women. $500 million dollars is a small price to pay to ensure the health and wellbeing of half of the population of the United States of America. Also, even though abortion is only a small part Planned Parenthood, a woman is able to have the procedure done safely and without further damage to her physical welfare. To conclude, Planned Parenthood is able to vastly improve women’s overall health through its facilities, like cancer screenings and family planning. However,