Abortion is separate from women’s rights
A bill proposing to end federal funding of Planned Parenthood recently passed the House, and some people are not t0o happy about that.
Concerned citizens have created Facebook pages declaring their opposition to the Pence Amendment, citing a concerning disregard for women’s rights and the provision of basic healthcare to low-income families.
Julia Vann | Daily Trojan
Even passed through the Senate and signed into law, though, the bill will not trample women’s rights, nor will it prevent people who are in need of services offered by Planned Parenthood from receiving them.
Social conservatives have long vilified Planned Parenthood for providing abortions, so it’s not surprising a Republican proposed the bill. U.S. Representative Mike Pence (R-Ind.) saw an opportunity to promote an ideological agenda through legislation, a fact he hasn’t hidden.
On his website, Pence states his moral opposition to abortion and says it is “morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to fund organizations that provide and promote abortions.”
Under the Title X Family Planning program, the federal government is required to provide funds to institutions, whether public or private, that offer family planning and related health services.
Planned Parenthood cannot legally use taxpayer dollars to perform abortions, however. But it is likely still disconcerting to many pro-life and pro-choice people that their money is going to an organization that performs more abortions every year.
Even if federal grants aren’t being applied directly toward abortion procedures, the idea that people’s tax money provides such substantial financial support begs the question of whether we are keeping those who support pro-choice in business, or even supporting them with our own money.
Either way, the Pence Amendment does not invalidate Title X, nor does it decrease the amount of federal funding provided through its application.
This means opponents’ cries that the bill encroaches on women’s rights and prevents low-income people from receiving treatment are essentially irrelevant.
Instead of keeping women and low-income citizens from receiving treatment altogether, passing the Pence Amendment into law would mean that they would go to other clinics that would be improved by a reallocation of Title X funds.
People would have more options to receive care at many different clinics that are not notorious for providing abortions as an oft-used form of family planning.
In directing funding away from Planned Parenthood and into other family planning organizations that are often marginalized, women will be better able to receive quality care, resources and unbiased information with the help of more widely and fairly distributed Title X funds.
There is a reason the bill received relatively bipartisan support in the House (10 Democrats voted to pass the Pence Amendment).
Not only does it allow for continued government support of women and families in need of assistance, but it also has the potential to steer those women and families away from abortion as a solution without taking away their right to choose.
To claim the Pence Amendment would harm women and families in need and take away choices is illogical. If anything, it would help women.
Women’s rights are not under attack here. Passage of the bill into law would arguably empower women by giving them more choices beyond abortion-happy Planned Parenthood.
Instead of just benefiting one organization, the Pence Amendment aims to give women and their families more choices and give the taxpayers a little peace of mind that their money is being put to better use.
Sarah Cueva is a freshman majoring in political science.
Between this and the Kappa Sig fiasco, I’m really ashamed to be a USC alumnae. This anti-female rhetoric is appalling.
Miss Cueva, perhaps your religiously-motivated views would be better suited at Azuza or Biola and not USC. I think they teach you that humans and dinosaurs walked on Earth together there, too.
As a journalist, it is important that you separate the opinions you hold that are based on feelings separate from the ones you hold that are based on evidence. What you feel is legitimate, and in reality, nobody can challenge you on you personal feelings about abortion. The error you made in your article is that you misrepresented data and used partial, out-of-context facts to support your feelings; this is where your readers ripped your article to pieces. If your feelings about an issue cannot be swayed by objective facts, you need to own that reality rather than disguise it. You are, at this point, following in the footsteps of Rush Limbaugh, Cal Thomas, and Mike Rosen, who line up their “facts” to support positions they already hold. You would better serve your readers if you emulated Kathleen Parker or George Will, conservatives who do not distort evidence in support of opinions based on feelings.
The article fails to mention the author is a far-right wing christian republican but I’m sure you all figured that out by now after seeing the logic used in this article.
Methinks this Sarah Cueva is a troll too. :)
“…Pence states his moral opposition to abortion and says it is “morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to fund organizations that provide and promote abortions.””
Hmm…That’s funny. I find it morally wrong that Americans have to pay the salaries of Republican politicians who try to legislate people’s reproductive rights. Go figure…
Wow! I have never read such a terribly baseless article in the DT and am very embarrassed that this was published by a USC student. Is there no editing process? Sarah Cueva should be ashamed.
“Abortion Happy” planned parenthood?
“Abortion comprises only 3% of all services. 36% is contraception, 31% is STI treatment/testing, 17% is cancer screening and prevention.”
Do some research SARAH CUEVA!
300,000 plus abortions per year with a bullet!!! #1 in the Country and proud of it
Sarah, your commentors are writing better, more informative articles than you. At least you have pissed them off enough to put some effort into it.
“the bill received relatively bipartisan support in the House (10 Democrats voted to pass the Pence Amendment).”
Seriously? Are you kidding me? You call 10 Democrats and and 230 Republicans “relatively bi-partisan”? 96% of the votes FOR this amendment were from Republicans. And 96% of the votes AGAINST this amendment were from Democrats. That is the definition of partisanship, and it is incredibly disingenuous to assert otherwise.
Did you do any research at all before writing this article?
Planned Parenthood is not “abortion happy”–what an incredibly unprofessional and (quite frankly) bitchy statement. Abortions account for less than 3% of services provided by Planned Parenthood. They are far more involved in STD screening, treatment, and prevention; birth control; cancer screenings; well-woman exams; pre-natal care and information for expecting mothers, especially low income mothers who cannot access services elsewhere; etc.
PP alone prevents more than 600,000 unintended pregnancies every year. Statistically speaking, if these had not been prevented, 40% would have ended in abortion (in simpler terms: 40% of unintended pregnancies end in abortion). Thus, PP *prevents* a minimum of 240,000 abortions every year.
Defunding Planned Parenthood does NOT mean abortions will stop. PP doesn’t use federal funding to perform abortions to begin with. Defunding PP means MORE abortions–because it means you are taking away access to safe, effective, AFFORDABLE, and reliable birth control methods (IUDs, the large variety of contraceptive pills, female condoms, male condoms, depo shots, nuva-ring, morning-after pills, etc.). It also means MORE unhealthy pregnancies because you are taking away vital pre-natal care to low income women who want to carry their pregnancies to term. You are also taking away breast cancer screenings, cervical cancer screenings, PAP smears, treatment for UTIs, screening and treatment for STDs and HIV, educational resources on safe sex, healthy pregnancies, etc.
While abortion may not be something you personally approve of or would CHOOSE for your own uterus (ah yes, the beauty of choice), basing your objection to PP on abortion services is incredibly misguided. You want to end funding for the 97% of services that you can and should support because of some 3% of services that don’t receive federal funding to begin with. Do you see the ridiculous lack of logic here?
I support a woman’s right to choose an abortion when that is the best option for her. And I support a woman’s right to choose to carry a pregnancy to term when THAT is the best option for her. And yes, there are absolutely times when choosing abortion is the BEST choice. But when it comes down to it, it is the woman’s choice. Not yours. Not the government’s.
As for “forcing pro-life Americans to fund organizations they disagree with”–I am forced to help fund the murder and thousands of Afghani and Iraqi citizens every year in the wars we have been waging that I have never supported. I am forced to fund state executions that I vehemently oppose. I am forced to fund assistance to governments like Mubarak’s Egypt and the Israeli military, both of which have been responsible for massive human rights violations, all documented and condemned by multiple sources. My tax dollars fund military programs like Predator drone missions that again have killed numerous civilians. That repulses me. But no one is going to defund those programs on my behalf. Nor do I hear any of these so-called “pro-lifers” protesting against the wars we wage, the weapons we use that contain depleted uranium, the executions we carry out in this country, the money we give to militaries and governments that is used to kill and maim and torture people, the cluster munitions and landmines we have strewn across the world that kill, maim, and injure people everyday…How the hell can anyone call themselves “pro-life” and support so many government-sponsored deaths?
As for your claim that “this is not a war on women’s rights”…A war on abortion is absolutely a war on women’s rights–their rights to do what they want with their own bodies. Their rights to make informed medical decisions in conjunction with their doctors when it comes to pregnancy and reproductive health issues. Their rights to have their medical decisions kept private and to have the government kept OUT of the doctor’s office. Their rights to access reproductive health services, especially for low income women. Their rights to have a voice and a choice. There is a very clear correlation between women’s overall rights and equality in a society and their level of reproductive rights. Countless studies have been conducted to show that connection. So while you may disagree with abortion and you may have no intentions of seeking such services, abortion is still a legal and constitutionally protected right in this country. And waging a war against Planned Parenthood is absolutely a war against women’s rights.
Well, after reading your post, I have to admit I’m feeling some love for you as well! Thanks for your well thought out and factual argument in support of Planned Parenthood!
What an idiot you have shown yourself to be…It is “Unprofessional and Bitchy” to say planned parenthood is “abortion happy”. Is it unprofessional to say a car dealer is “car happy” because they sold 300,000 cars last year or that McDonalds is “hamburger happy” because they sold a quarter of a million Big Macs last year? If you perform 300,000 abortions in a year then you are most certainly “Abortion Happy” Only a fool uses Planned Parenthoods report of “SERVICES” provided to make their case that they are not primarily an Abortion institute. Yes, they may only show 3% of their “services” going toward abortions but it’s all in the way you spin it. A service is a phone consult or an office visit for a kid with an STD or an abortion. If a branch takes 60 phone calls in a day and has 37 office visits to get some kids hooked up with condoms or birth control pills and then performs 3 abortions your numbers are born. 97% of the days “services”, are non-abortion related. Seems innocent enough, lets send $400 million in tax dollars to them!!! Wow, they hardly do any abortion right??? Wrong! I for one prefer to have our tax dollars spread out to organizations whose primary focus is NOT abortions. Say what you want but the organization was founded to perform abortions and performs more abortions annually than any other organization in our country. This being said I am totally Pro Choice but pay for your own damn abortion and let my same tax dollars go to organizations whose primary focus is helping women in other ways. This is not about a war on rights or abortions at all, just a push to move money to an organzation who’s focus is womens health. Re-read the article before you send off some crazy and foolish comments because you are concerned your job at PP is about to be marginalized. xoxo
Jack, I feel sorry for you…so much anger and hatred and illogical reasoning in one short post…
Yes, PP provided about 330,000 abortions in 2009. But that is still only 3% of their direct medical services (and no “medical services” does not include phone calls as you so baselessly asserted). Lets have a look at some of the other services they provided, using actual numbers and data rather than abstract, baseless theorizing…
Each year, *3 million* women AND men received a total of *11.4 million* medical services while also preventing more than 610,000 unintended pregnancies, which as mentioned previously means they PREVENTED more than 250,000 abortions (for an organization that you claim is so “abortion happy,” they certainly prevent a lot of abortions every year).
Want a more specific breakdown of “medical services” provided? Here you go:
–35% of services are for contraception. They provided more than *4 million* contraception services, including about 144,000 men, *1.53 million* emergency contraceptive kits, and *2.32 million* women for reversible birth control methods (primarily oral contraceptives, but also includes condoms, IUDs, hormone rings, patches, etc.)
–35% of services are for STD/STI testing and treatment. This includes about 540,000 HIV tests for both men and women and another *3.42 million* STD procedures (testing and treatment).
–16% of services are for cancer screenings and prevention. Which translates into *900,000* PAP smears every year; *45,000* HPV vaccinations; over *830,000* breast exams/care; over *46,000* colposcopy exams; *2,700* LEEP/LOOP procedures (which involves removing damaged or abnormal cells on the cervix to prevent cervical cancer); and *2,000* cryotherapy procedures.
–10% of services are other women’s health services, including *1.15 million* pregnancy tests and nearly 20,000 prenatal and/or midlife clients.
–Other services make up the remaining 1% of services, including nearly 20,000 primary care clients (male and female), nearly 1,000 adoption referrals to other agencies, and over 56,000 other services including WIC services, pediatric care, and immunizations.
But you’re right, that 3% definitely makes them “abortion-happy.” Forget about the fact that they provide **11.1 million** OTHER medical services every year, including preventing abortions. It would be silly to say they are “STD-testing-and-preventing-happy” (what a mouthful) or “pregnancy-happy” or “cancer-screening happy” or “education-happy” or “birth control happy.” Because none of those titles are nearly as exciting or inflammatory.
In addition to medical services, Planned Parenthood has several other areas of activities, including education and information.
Each year, Planned Parenthood provides sexuality education courses to *1.2 million* people of all ages. These education programs focus on HIV/AIDS, contraception/family planning (including abstinence), family life education, parent-child communication, puberty education, safer sex, sexual orientation/homophobia, sexuality education, sexually transmitted infections, teenage pregnancy, and women’s health.
And each year, the PP website receives about 22 million visits to their website, primarily for information resources.
Planned Parenthood is the most popular and most respected health services provider in the country. Yes, they performed “more abortions than any other organization” simply because they have the capacity to do so–but they only performed about 30% of the abortions in the entire country. So the vast majority of abortions in this country are NOT provided by Planned Parenthood.
Women already pay for “their own damn abortions.” Federal funding cannot be and is not used to fund abortion services. Period. Planned Parenthood helps millions of men and women every year. 75% of their clients have incomes more than 150% BELOW the poverty line. Finding an alternative health provider, particularly one that can be trusted to provide quality, reliable, affordable care, is not something that should be treated so flippantly.
Please don’t waste your energy feeling sorry for me, I should survive. I harbor zero hatred for anybody but I do love how people like you try to twist other peoples words to fit your own narrow minded thinking and agenda. I suspect anyone who disaggrees with you is illogical and “bitchy”. Typical passive aggressive behavioral traits that we see displayed with the disinfranchised. No one said planned parenthood is not a fine organization with fantastic benefits to women. They will continue to do wonderful things and help those in need of help but they should do it without government funding. Let’s give that funding to other organizations and see if they can help women more than PP with that money. Worth a try no?? There are many that disagree with having their tax dollars go to an organzation who defaults to abortion with such ease. Although I’ve got no issues with PP I do have issues with our tax dollars feeding this process. What are you so angry about, the money will still go to help women and families, just at different locations and hopefully better ways? And please stop with the cut and paste posts. That’s not the purpose of a blog. Try doing some independent thinking instead, it might open your narrow mind up a bit………
P.S. Does I stand with PP mean you are a male? :)
No, it’s not “worth a try.” Planned Parenthood has the resources, expertise, research, standards, experience, and recognition that makes them worthy of their title as an indispensable organization and service provider. The Pence amendment prevents any organization that offers abortion services from receiving Title X funding. Bush established the same policy with PEPFAR funding under the Mexico City policy–some of the leading organizations in developing countries that provided HIV testing and treatment lost funding because they also happened to provide birth control and abortion services. They took funding away from some of the most capable, most experienced, most reliable, and most effective programs in the fight against HIV/AIDS because Bush decided he didn’t want women in developing countries to have access to safe and legal abortions.
There is no rule in Title X that says other organizations can’t get funding. Other organizations can and do receive funding under Title X, but just like every other federal funding program, organizations have to compete. Planned Parenthood has clearly been chosen repeatedly as the preeminent provider for reproductive health care. Because they are good at what they do and they do it responsibly and cost-effectively.
The Pence Amendment is just one of the many ways current GOP leaders in the House are trying to attack women’s reproductive rights. Taken in conjunction with the other bills and amendments they have proposed, this is far more than an issue of “re-allocating funds.” It is an attack on women’s rights. Just listen to the debate that went on in the House–listen to the rhetoric the GOP leaders used. Their intent is absolutely to limit access to reproductive health services, and especially abortion.
Planned Parenthood does not “default to abortion.” It is incredibly easy (and pitiful) to choose such arguments without providing any basis, any facts, or any proof. But you are good at that, as we have seen so far. If you can provide solid evidence for any of the things you claim, I would love to see it.
As for your assertion, I am not “cutting and pasting.” I am using concrete evidence and data (which I realize is a foreign concept to you) to back up everything I am saying. You should try it sometime. It might open up your narrow mind a bit…or at the very least make you sound a little less ignorant.
You win PP. can’t compete with the queen of cut and paste. I change my stange and prefer we up our tax contribution to a cool half billion for you and PP. There is NO other options available and thus we must continue down this path. But lets be real. It doesn’t have a chance of passing anyway so we are all good. PP, enjoy your weekend!! Crack a bottle of wine and hit a rock and and go enjoy some unprotected sex! You need to just relax and not take yourself so serious girl
Please, oh great one, show me where I am “cutting and pasting” from. Providing solid data and hard facts is how you make and support logical arguments in the real world. Meanwhile, you have failed to provide a single piece of data or evidence. The fact that you have to rely so heavily on jokes, personal attacks, flippant remarks just shows how weak and baseless your arguments really are. But I am sure you know that.
You are right, though. There is no way in hell this amendment is going to pass the Senate. Thank God we still have sensible leaders in one segment of Congress.
“Crack a bottle of wine and hit a rock and and go enjoy some unprotected sex!”
Cute. And very mature.
What so many of those commenting below fail to realize is that their choice to have their choice supported by government funding is not my choice as a taxpayer. Abortion is a choice, as many here have said. It is legal. That does NOT, however, make it okay for tax dollars to go to a clinic that provides this OPTIONAL procedure. Other clinics can provide health care just as well.
When others to provide for our choices we run the risk of giving up our rights to those providing for our desires.
I prefer to be responsible for the freedom to make my own own choices. I cannot afford insurance, so I make arrangements with my medical providers to pay them as I am able. I cannot afford college education, but I encourage my high school age child to seek scholarships and work toward his educational goals. This is old fashioned American thinking, but if I choose to live a certain way it is my responsiblity to provide for that lifestyle, not expect a taxpayer I’ve never met to provide for my desires. To many people forget that rights and responsiblities go hand-in-hand; when we hand over the responsibilities to our government, we give up many of the rights our forbears fought so hard to win for us. Asking the government to fund our choices can easily result in those choices being regulated by the government, thereby taking away the very rights so many here vehemently say they support.
Currently no federal funding is used to provide abortions, at Planned Parenthood or anywhere else. The funding that is being eliminated from Planned Parenthood is funding used for preventative healthcare and STD testing, and is being eliminated as a punishment for Planned Parenthood’s practice of providing abortions for their patients through the use of private donations and payment by patients. Again, this in no way funded by states or the federal government. Funding or not funding abortions isn’t even a real issue. It is already settled that the federal government will not provide any funding for abortion services.
As far as the responsibility of taxpayers to pay for the desires of other people, I would just remind you that there are a lot things that taxpayers for, pay and may not necessarily desire, to take care of other people. I have no children, but your desire, and other people’s similiar desire, to have children has effected my taxes as my taxes are used to educate children of people I have never and will never meet. I have no desire to participate in wars, but my taxes are still used to fund them. I did not vote for every president, vice president, representative, or governor who has ever been elected to “represent” me, but my taxes are used to fund their salaries, even when I think they are doing a poor job. I have no desire to contribute a portion of my paycheck to social security (which isn’t really a tax, but is withdrawn from my paycheck by the federal government), knowing full well that there will be no funds paid back to me when I reach retirement age, but that money is still taken from every single one of my paychecks and paid out to others.
What I do desire is fewer unintended pregnancies through information and access to birth control, the slowed spread of STD’s and STI’s, and healthcare screening for things like cervical and breast cancer. Planned Parenthood provides all of these things at a reasonable cost to women and men who can’t afford other doctor’s offices and otherwise would go without these necessary health services. While there are other places, I am sure, that provide similiar services, there are none that I know of in the area where I live, or in many other areas. And I don’t think we should put the health of so many people who depend on the services provided by Planned Parenthood, that are completely unrelated to abortion, at risk to send a political message.
Ah, the rape argument. Abortion-lovers always pull that one out of the hat. The truth is, if the only babies ever aborted were those that were the product of rape, there wouldn’t be a national outcry about abortion (I’m not saying no one would object – I’m saying the scale of the conflict would be massively reduced). But the fact is, millions of babies have been killed out of convenience. That is messed up. What’s more, Rachel, that 1-in-3 will be raped statistic has been widely debunked. Get your facts straight.
Diane,
I would be ecstatic if the 1 in 3 women rape statistic were “widely debunked.” Please direct me to a credible source so I can see that it is, in fact, untrue.
As for the “rape argument,” you are correct, many pro-choice advocates point to this argument as one way to support the continued legality of a woman’s right to choose. However, no one is claiming that those are the only abortions that happen. I was merely pointing out the fact that not all abortions are the product of “premeditated or idiotic action” on the part of women who have abortions. But, there are clearly many more reasons for abortion than simply rape, including health of the mother, “babies” who would be born with significant birth defects like a lack of a brain or other vital organ, financial inability to care for a child, the choice to continue to focus on education or career growth, or simply the fact that the woman who chooses to have an abortion never wanted to have children. And in our legal system, all of these women have a legal right to make the choice to have an abortion, no matter what their reasoning.
As for facts, I would point you to the fact that during the time in which abortion was illegal in the United States, women still had them. However, they were performed in unsafe conditions which lead to the death of many women. Like it or not, women are going to continue having abortions, and I for one would like to make sure they do it with a licensed doctor in a medically safe environment. Of course, I would prefer that unwanted pregnancies never happened, making the abortion debate moot, but without accurate information about birth control (which our schools don’t provide thanks to federal funding for abstinence only education) and without affordable access to birth control methods for all men and women in this country, unwanted pregnancies aren’t going anywhere.
hmmm, my college education should have taught me to proof read. Poli-Sci…also known as political science…not “policy science.”
Planned Parenthood is Blood-Thirsty. They lie & deceive for the purpose of murdering little kids who looked just like you & I when we were their age. These kids experience the pain of being torn to shreds or aborted by saline injections. Why the hell should you or I pay for this ugly practice? Because making money by killing little kids is a “Hard Sell” to the public, so they enlist government help, mostly Atheists & Democrats, to further their practice. Wake Up! It’s not that hard to figure out. Planned Parenthood cannot be trusted. Even their name is a lie…they give NO credit to our Maker for making us…it’s “all” up to OUR planning. We need to abort this from all our budgets … State & National. It is a dangerous weed that will suck the life out of all of us. Not convinced? Watch a movie of an actual abortion taking place…e.g. Silent Scream. See what actually takes place in these procedures. The ruthless OBJECTIFICATION of women has a price.
Dood, do you support funding the military? Just asking…
Planned Parenthood is a for profit corporation disguising itself as a charity. Every dollar sent to PP is two dollars in new debt to taxpayers. Presently, monthly federal overspending our tax receipts is more than the entire annual budget of California – the largest state. We need to cut back now – PP is just one of many extras that needs to start standing on its own.
Wow. That is so incorrect. And the lack of factual references tell me that you either 1. Don’t really care or 2. Are trying to get a reaction. So here is mine. Abortion is a women’s issue, because getting a woman pregnant is the easiest way to control her. And 1 in four women who have reported being in an abusive relationship have also reported that their partners have sabotaged their birth control in some way. What about those women?
You’re defending the wrong side. And what’s worse, if it were up to the Mike Pences of the world, you wouldn’t be a young college student. You’d be a young mother of three. And that’s all you’d ever be. You and Lila Rose can thank the women’s movement for that, whether you’d like it or not.
You are welcome to your opinion as am I.
I will try to be as pleasant as possible here when the fact of the matter is I think you need to grow up and open your eyes to the world around you. Frankly, I find this article appalling. I guess you’ve never had a boyfriend cheat on you and didn’t want to or couldn’t go to a gp to get STD testing. Or maybe you found a lump. Or maybe you just want to get a pap smear, you know as preventative care to make sure you are healthy. Planned Parenthood is not just abortions. People prefer to go to a place they know or know of and are comfortable with in general.
You say a lot of people aren’t too happy about it. No I’m flipping ticked off (that was my polite way of phrasing that).
In case you are not aware: Abortion is a woman’s right. It may not be all of women’s rights but it is one of them.
Abortion is legal. Therefore, this is attacking a place just because it provides them. It doesn’t matter whether you or anyone else agrees with abortions, they are legal. Planned Parenthood follows the law with regards to funding and that’s what you need to worry about.
It is my right, as a woman, to go to Planned Parenthood if I see fit. By trying to get rid of Planned Parenthood he is trampling my rights and the rights of any other woman who wishes to receive services. There is no other point of this than to attack a woman’s choice to have an abortion.
“To claim the Pence Amendment would harm women and families in need and take away choices is illogical. If anything, it would help women.”
No, it would make them have to find somewhere else to go that they may not be comfortable with. If a woman wants to go somewhere else she will. No one forces her to go to Planned Parenthood, but they are trying to take that choice from her.
“Women’s rights are not under attack here. Passage of the bill into law would arguably empower women by giving them more choices beyond abortion-happy Planned Parenthood.”
P.P. is a choice and you are arguing to take it away. Shame. I went to P.P. when I was pregnant and I can attest to the fact that they are not abortion-happy as you so blithely phrased it. All my options were laid on the table.
Have you ever actually gone to Planned Parenthood because from the tone of your article I highly doubt it. If you wish to continue in your Poli Sci career I’d suggest you do actual physical research on both sides of any argument you wish to converse on. By physical research I mean get away from the internet and any books or articles you might have read and march yourself down to whatever facility/institution you are discussing and actually talk to people. Here’s a hint: The P.P. I visited, of my own free will and choice, actually had a notebook in the lobby for people to write their experiences for others to read and perhaps give them some insight. I hope you are getting up to go do that now. Otherwise you are giving a very one-sided argument and I’m sure your profs would tell you that can be very, um, ignorant.
I stand for Planned Parenthood.
Well, with your obvious opinion here I guess you will now never have to worry about a friend or loved one coming to you with an unexpected pregnancy scare. They already will know how you feel. So that’s a bonus for you since you won’t have to deal with it. But from their perspective you will be one less person they can count on because you want to take away somewhere they may want to go and discuss their options. With the support system small already people need P.P. more than ever. It’s safe, confidential, and non-judgmental. When you have no one else to talk to that is very important.
Best of luck.
I don’t really see how a “pregnancy scare” is possible without some sort of premeditated or idiotic action underlying it. In any case, don’t real doctors exist to take care of people who need to go to them? Go to one of them—I don’t want my tax dollars funding your decadent lifestyle.
@Anonymous –
Pregnancy scares are actually quite possible without some sort of premeditated or idiotic action, as you phrase it. There are many young women in this world who, for one reason or another, choose to not be on birth control. And just to head off your argument that this woman is “idiotic,” lets talk only about those women who are saving themselves for marriage or are religious, and either feel that they don’t need birth control, or are told by their church that the use of birth control is a sin. Or how about those adolescent girls who have not yet made the decision to get on birth control.
Now lets say that one of these women gets raped. As 1 in 3 women in the United States will be raped at some point in here life, it is actually more likely that many of these women will get raped. By a friend, a boyfriend, a relative, or a stranger, she will be forced to have a sexual encounter that she neither premeditated nor wanted. And some of these rapes result in a pregnancy. What a woman in this situation chooses to do is just that – her choice. I don’t know about you, but I have been raped. If that rape resulted in a pregnancy you bet your ass I would have had an abortion. I was held down, my clothes removed, and my body violated. If you think that I am going to also carry this man’s child for nine months, you are flat out wrong. And that would have been my choice.
Not to mention the fact that your argument is just a fallacy – that pregnancies can be prevented if you do everything right. Maybe your school didn’t teach sex ed, or maybe you just weren’t paying attention, but there is no such thing as a birth control option that is 100% effective against pregnancy, except abstinance. If you want to live your life saving yourself for “the one,” be my guest, but you don’t get to make that choice for others. So, many women do everything right, use one or multiple forms of birth control (like the pill and a condom) and still get pregnant.
Now, about your suggestion that you don’t want you tax dollars funding other individual’s “decadent” lifestyles. Too bad. Seriously. Once you pay your taxes, you are no longer in control of how that money is used. I don’t want my taxes going to fund wars, paying George W. Bush’s pension, paying the salaries of elected officials who try to strip me of my fundamental rights as a woman, etc. I bet if every american looked at the actual budget of the United States, we would all find multiple things we, as citizens, pay for that pisses us off. But you will also find that a large portion of your taxes go to things that you do approve of, and none of your taxes go to abortion.
If you don’t like Planned Parenthood, don’t go there. If you don’t approve of abortions, don’t get one. But keep your ideology off my body, I have rights too.
Rachel, I think I love you. :)
Lol, well thank you!
I don’t really see how a “pregnancy scare” is possible without some sort of premeditated or idiotic action underlying it.
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You can be responsible and take birth-control and/or using condoms. None of these methods is 100% effective.
This is a joke, right?