Today the U.S. House of Representatives voted to deny all federal funding to Planned Parenthood health centers .The Pence Amendment, introduced by Mike Pence (R-IN), bans all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, despite the fact that the vast majority of their services are providing women with birth control, cancer screenings, HIV testing, and other lifesaving care.
It is important to note that the Hyde Amendment already prevents Planned Parenthood from using government funds to provide abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or when a woman's life is in danger.
Most of the federal money Planned Parenthood receives is through Title X, which pays for pelvic exams, breast exams, safe-sex education, and basic infertility counseling, among other services. Title X money cannot be used to pay for abortions. Abortions made up just 3 percent of the patient services that Planned Parenthood offered in 2008. But Pence doesn't care: "If Planned Parenthood wants to be involved in providing counseling services and HIV testing, they ought not be in the business of providing abortions," the Indiana Representative told POLITICO. "As long as they aspire to do that, I’ll be after them."
Gail Collins of The New York Times points out the glaring hypocrisy of Pence’s legislation:
But here's the most notable thing about this whole debate: The people trying to put Planned Parenthood out of business do not seem concerned about what would happen to the 1.85 million low-income women who get family-planning help and medical care at the clinics each year. It just doesn’t come up. There’s not even a vague contingency plan… There are tens of millions Americans who oppose abortion because of deeply held moral principles. But they’re attached to a political movement that sometimes seems to have come unmoored from any concern for life after birth. (emphasis mine)
These women will have no where to turn for preventative health care. This is not just a women's issue -- it is also a public health issue.
Please stand with Planned Parenthood to stop the Pence Amendment. Sign Planned Parenthood's open letter to Congress. Contact your Representative and Senators.
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