Why Planned Parenthood Is For Everyone
I met the president of Planned Parenthood earlier this fall when she was a guest speaker at Harvard’s Institute of Politics. Though most people are familiar with the organization’s reproductive services, she said that many do not realize that PP offers comprehensive health care, often to those who need it most (those who are uninsured/not citizens/poor/etc.). When it comes to undocumented immigrants, PP even pays out of their own pockets, since the organization receives no federal subsidies for treating non-citizens. PP opens its doors to everyone, no questions asked, and provides a valuable service for individuals who would never otherwise have access to a medical professional.
I doubt that many pro-life protestors realize abortion is just one of many, many procedures done at PP clinics. So much conservative rhetoric about Planned Parenthood is intent on depicting the organization as a fetus-killing factory. Almost no one recognizes that PP provides pre- and post-natal care, pediatric services, cancer prevention screenings, and a litany of other offerings. PP is far from anti-family or anti-motherhood; it is, in fact, one of the few places an uninsured young mother can turn to for help.
I believe strongly in the PP model of health care, which views abortion as one, but not the only, crucial reproductive service that women need in order to wield any agency over their bodies and lives. The organization may be pro-choice in its advocacy, but it should not defined by its stance on abortion. Unlike pro-life groups, Planned Parenthood is interested in giving its patients real options. People’s individual decisions may differ (and not everyone may agree with them), but the point is that Planned Parenthood makes these choices economically and legally possible in the first place.
For a young woman’s take on Planned Parenthood, check out Placeholdertext’s experience:
Planned Parenthood qualified me for a health access program (because I have no income) which allows me to get a number of free services for a year, including a year’s supply of birth control, six Plan B pills, and treatment for things like yeast infections and STIs, as well as tests and screenings. The process wasn’t scary at all— they were really friendly and the most I had to do was pee in a cup, get weighed, and get my blood pressure checked. They sent me off with three months’ worth of pills, a pack of Plan B (they told me that a lot of the time, women in the program would have a friend who needed it, so it’s good to have them anyways), five condoms, and a set of papers filled with information that they had gone over with me.
They were really easy to talk to— it helped that I was already pretty well informed, and they were glad that I had taken the initiative and gotten the pills to see how I’d react to them before I actually needed them.
If less acne, lighter periods, and being informed and prepared sounds good to you, definitely check out Planned Parenthood. :)
For inspiring tales from Planned Parenthood volunteers, read their accounts on I Am Emily X.
