Planned Parenthood revealed its true colors this week in the ongoing fight over abortion access in this country. The company supposedly champions women's health and states over and over again that abortion only makes up a fraction of its services provided. Yet this latest decision doesn't seem to match that claim.
The federal government offers a program for family planning called Title X. It helps provide family planning health services for low-income families or uninsured people. These services are provided at reduced or no cost. All that is stuff Planned Parenthood claims to champion. But the company has decided to cut off its nose to spite its face.
Planned Parenthood is going to withdraw from Title X, according to The New York Times. Here's more from the newspaper:
"The funds have enabled the group to provide more than 1.5 million low-income women each year with services like birth control and pregnancy tests, as well as screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and breast and cervical cancer. In some rural communities, Planned Parenthood is the only provider of such services."
What's the reason for all this hubbub? It's a new restriction from our president's administration that limits what health providers can say about abortion. "The rule says that while clinics accepting Title X funds may continue to talk to patients about abortion, they may not refer women to an abortion provider or suggest where to obtain an abortion," The Times reported.
So, because accepting these funds prohibits Planned Parenthood from telling patients where they can go to kill their babies, the organization has decided it'll just stop taking money to provide family planning services for low-income folks. Makes sense.
If a medical organization is willing to let patients go without vital services to make a political point, there's a problem.
Of course, to the rest of us that don't favor infanticide, this is just Planned Parenthood revealing its true colors. Hopefully this funding can be redirected to county health units that'll pick up the slack, without the murder.
Editorial on 08/23/2019