Planned Parenthood's Invalid Defunding for Texans

The decision to continue or cease to federally fund Planned Parenthood has been an ongoing struggle. It is an issue that directly affects Texas as well as all of the United States. Planned Parenthood was created in 1916 to provide women, men, and teens access to federally funded health services, including cancer screenings, testing for sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, and other women’s health services. The organization also provides non-federally funded abortion services. However, those that are more conservative believe that Planned Parenthood should be defunded, because although it doesn’t use federal money for abortions, it still provides the service.

According to Stephen Dinan, a writer for The Washington Times, Planned Parenthood’s “clinics account for about a quarter of abortions in the United States.” Furthermore, Robert Pear, a writer for The New York Times, states that the organization provides more than 300,000 abortions per year.

Also, there is one major financial gain from defunding Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood receives a substantial amount of federal funding. According to Suzanne Sataline, author for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, about one-third of Planned Parenthood’s money is federally funded. Planned Parenthood receives $1 million a day from taxpayer funds. If Planned Parenthood were to cut federal funding, then the national debt would decrease. In one year, defunding Planned Parenthood would save $365 million, a small dent in the national debt.

However, alleviating national debt leaves poorer people without access to healthcare. For example, according to Sataline, Texas would “lose $20 million statewide through cuts being proposed by some lawmakers.” Some proponents’ main goal is to defund Planned Parenthood in order to decrease availability to abortions. However, the organization’s health centers in Texas that enable care for 122,000 women do not provide abortion services. Therefore, in Texas, defunding Planned Parenthood would put an end to helping many underprivileged men, women, and teens to health services, not abortions.

Texas legislature needs to make their voice be heard in this debate, and it needs to explain how Texas does not partake in the abortion services through Planned Parenthood. Therefore, it should remain federally funded in order to benefit all of the 122,000 women as well as men that go there for health services. Defunding Planned Parenthood based on the debate’s reasoning does not apply to Texans.