my tax dollar

Planned Parenthood clinics perform about one third of all abortions in the United States, about 300,000 abortions in 2007-2008, and they receive $350 million in tax dollars annually. I don't want my taxes being spent this way.

When I first thought of my rebuttal to yet another of this friend's fb status updates, I was going to focus on areas in which I did not my tax dollars being spent. Then I reconsidered; this approach would be successful in allowing me to vent my displeasure, but beyond that it wouldn't accomplish much. Rather, I have decided to focus on the nuts and bolts of what Planned Parenthood actually does and how these tax dollars indeed provide necessary services.

While I was at Marquette, I went to Planned Parenthood for my annual checkup and to receive my birth control pills; years later, I still do so. Why? As a college student, I believed being on the pill (or any form of birth control) was better than the alternative of bringing an unplanned child into the world. Today, due to being older and hopefully wiser, it still beats the alternative AND I wholeheartedly believe in the purpose and existence of Planned Parenthood.

The root of Planned Parenthood's mission and actions is that all women should have access to the full range of reproductive health care. This includes (but is not limited to) birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Their primary goal is prevention; reducing the number of unintended pregnancies in our communities via preventative healthcare measures and education.

In fact, preventative and primary health care is what Planned Parenthood predominantly does; more than 90% of their resources (or more than $315 million in tax dollars) are allocated to these services. By providing these services, Planned Parenthood helps women and families make responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health, their lives and their futures.

As a part of protecting their health and the health of their families, women facing an unintended or unwanted pregnancy must have access to safe, abortion services without interference from the government or anti-choice extremists. In case you missed it, Roe v. Wade (1973) constitutionally and legally protects a woman's access to a medically safe abortion. Decisions about whether or not to have an abortion is up to the individual, not the government; and should be made by a woman in consultation with her family and doctor, not by politicians. This is a right that must be protected.

However, the real issue is to reduce unintended and unwanted pregnancies in the first place. How is this done? By increasing access to affordable birth control and comprehensive sex education. Yes, sex education does include abstinence. However, with over 50% of teenagers (a percentage that is higher in low-income urban areas) losing their virginity before high school graduation, preaching abstinence is not wholly effective.

Teenagers, and the populous as a whole, need to be educated on the different options of birth control available and the way to properly use these options; as well as the consequences of not utilizing what is available to them. By providing the correct resources and working together, we (in theory) can produce an educated population equipped with the knowledge to make responsible and informed decisions.

Planned Parenthood provides necessary services to women and their families - preventative and primary health care, affordable birth control and sex education.

I want my tax dollars being spent this way.

(additional information and statistics provided by Planned Parenthood and The Kaiser Family Foundation)