Planned Parenthood is a reliable healthcare resource that is vital to Ohio residents.
On Tuesday, Nov. 17, the Ohio House of Representatives will vote on whether or not to defund Planned Parenthood at the state level. Much of the current opposition to Planned Parenthood is in response to highly edited videos claiming that Planned Parenthood affiliates sell fetal tissues, which have since been debunked. Aside from these videos, many of the people who oppose Planned Parenthood do not oppose the overall organization, but rather abortion. However, defunding Planned Parenthood will have little effect on abortion. For one, only 3 percent of the services Planned Parenthood provides are abortion services.
Furthermore, due to the Hyde Amendment of 1976, no federal funding has been used for abortion in the last 39 years. Lastly, state funding has not been used for abortions in Ohio since 1995.
Planned Parenthood provided 11 million medical services to patients in 2012. 79 percent of their patients are at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. The organization provides a wide range of services including sex education and information, contraceptives, cancer screenings, STI tests, HIV tests, colonoscopy exams, breast exams, STI treatments, pregnancy tests and prenatal screenings.
In October, the Ohio Senate already voted 23-10 to defund Planned Parenthood. Only one woman was on the hearing committee. If the House votes to defund Planned Parenthood, Gov. Kasich has ten days to veto the bill, if he so chooses. This is unlikely, as the Iowa Caucus is in less than three months, and Kasich will want to gain favor with Republican voters, given that he is currently polling several points behind at least five candidates, according to most polls.
Planned Parenthood provides services to millions of people in the United States. An attack on Planned Parenthood is not an attack on abortion, it is an attack primarily on young people, people of lower socioeconomic status, and people of color. It is downright insulting that a few lawmakers (almost all men) in the Ohio Senate and House feel they can suppress the healthcare needs of women all across Ohio. Ohio citizens should be watching Gov. Kasich, especially if he is prepared to allow the passage of a bill that affects hundreds of thousands of his constituents, simply to gain the favor of Republican voters in other states in order to try and win the Republican primary. Ignoring the needs of the people of his own state just to promote his own political agenda is not a good indication of a president who would support his people.
Ohio citizens should be letting our lawmakers know that defunding Planned Parenthood is not an acceptable choice by calling our representatives and being educated on this issue. Keeping Planned Parenthood as a reliable healthcare resource is vital to citizens all across Ohio.
Reiya Bhat is a sophomore studying political science.
