Planned Parenthood, You Must Be Doing Something Right

Many people were shocked, and rightly so, at Susan G. Komen For the Cure’s recent decision to cut support to Planned Parenthood. But those who have really been paying attention weren’t entirely taken by surprise. Less than a year ago, the Komen foundation appointed the outspoken and staunchly anti-abortion Karen Handel as Senior Vice President of Public Policy. It would take an act of improbable faith in human decency to believe that Handel wasn’t going to drag Komen into her anti-abortion agenda.

But the Recent Susan G. Komen fiasco wasn’t the start of all this hating on Planned Parenthood. Anti-abortion groups have had a raging hard on for Planned Parenthood for some years now. Just last February, anti-abortion groups launched a campaign aimed specifically at denying Planned Parenthood its federal funding. This coalition of local and national anti-abortion groups set its sights on the Planned Parenthood boogeyman, and they’ve had their share of success. Their effort placed the Planned Parenthood funding question right in the middle of a budget stalemate which almost shut down the federal government back in April. Several state legislatures voted to de-fund Planned Parenthood last year, although judges overturned the laws in a few states. In September, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) launched a Congressional investigation into Planned Parenthood’s spending, supposedly to uncover whether they’re using government funds to pay for abortions – even though the organization by law must keep scrupulous records of how government funds are spent. That bogus, politically-motivated investigation conveniently provided Handel and the Komen foundation with the pretense they needed for cutting off support to Planned Parenthood.

97% of what Planned Parenthood does is not abortions, and no federal money (or Susan G. Komen money) funds abortions. Yet opponents of choice are determined to starve the beast, even if it means removing funding for a variety of vital reproductive health services. They argue that funding Planned Parenthood’s non-abortion services “frees up” money for abortions. In order to believe that, I’d have to assume that Planned Parenthood can only spend a finite amount on non-abortion healthcare services, and once that ceiling is reached, the overflow of money goes into providing abortions. Conversely, if we de-fund the other services, Planned Parenthood will then have to dip into the old abortion fund in order to make up the difference. They’ll have to cut costs by cutting back on abortions -- even though Planned Parenthood actually makes money from providing abortions (about 15% of its annual revenue). It’s difficult to see where starving the beast of funds for cervical cancer screenings and contraception is going to motivate it to cut back on abortion services; it seems logical that the reverse would be true. Planned Parenthood would now be more motivated than ever to perform abortions, the payment for which would be necessary to keep the organization afloat.

Even if opponents were successful in driving Planned Parenthood out of the abortion business, or in destroying it altogether, what would that really mean for abortion in America? Foes like to point out the Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the nation. But its clinics around the country perform about 300,000 abortions a year. With around 1.2 million abortions going on each year in the US, that means that Planned Parenthood is providing in the range of 25% of this country's abortions. That’s no small chunk, I suppose. I guess if you believe that a significant portion of women who are going to use their abortion services will not seek an abortion elsewhere, then by eliminating Planned Parenthood you could probably stop – what? -- 10%? 15% of abortions from happening? And I guess if you believe that abortion is a brutal murder of an innocent child, well then every innocent child saved makes it all worthwhile. But we’re still talking about well over a million abortions each year. It just doesn’t seem like a “bigger picture” goal.

The truth is that probably 75 - 80% of abortions are performed in places other than a Planned Parenthood clinic. They are performed in doctors’ offices, clinics and hospitals all around the country. Your precious, precious tax dollars and the Susan G. Komen foundation’s money and other women’s health charity dollars still go to those other facilities. But you don’t hear anti-abortion groups or politicians foaming at the mouth about that. Planned Parenthood makes a nice, large, easy target. Also, they provide and advocate for contraceptives and comprehensive sex education… But this isn’t about that, right? This is about the little babies.

It’s a convenient boogeyman: the biggest, baddest baby killer in the nation. But truthfully, what really sets them apart from the health care providers who perform the other 3 out of 4 of abortions is that Planned Parenthood serves primarily poor women. According to Planned Parenthood, 75% of their clients have incomes at or below 150% of the federal poverty level.

If Planned Parenthood were shut down entirely, there might be some women without the resources to find another abortion provider. The poorest women, with the fewest options available to them would have yet one more option cut off, while wealthy women would continue to enjoy reproductive freedom. But the number of (primarily poor) women who would be cut off from other healthcare services, including preventive care and access to contraceptives, would be much higher.

This is basic logic, folks. A few thousand women might not be able to obtain abortions without Planned Parenthood. But many thousands of women would also not be able to afford contraception, STD screenings, cancer screenings, and a host of other reproductive health services.

Demonizing and scapegoating Planned Parenthood reveals the “pro-life” movement’s true colors. They treasure their feelings of moral superiority far more dearly than they value anybody’s life. Their real enemy is not abortion; if it were, they’d be working to end abortion through education and family planning. Instead, they actively oppose an organization which provides those services to millions. To them, preventing women from taking control of their own lives is actually more important than stopping abortions from happening. They can only visualize an end to abortion through the lens of disempowering women.