Pennsylvania House Introduces Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood

Nikki Ditto and Molly Duerig, WLP Interns

A bill recently introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, HB 2405, aims to bar state and federal funds from going to health care clinics that provide abortions. Titled the “Whole Women’s Health Funding Priorities Act,” the bill would defund Planned Parenthood in the state of Pennsylvania, and keep women from receiving affordable reproductive and preventive health care. The bill was introduced by Representative Daryl Metcalfe [R- Butler County], and has the support of a number of republican representatives.

   View Rep. Metcalfe’s Press Conference

According to an editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rep. Metcalfe claims that “overall public funding for women’s health services would not be reduced, but that the bill would prioritize funding so that hospitals, health centers, and other clinics would receive money first.” Metcalfe’s goal is to defund any clinics or organizations that provide abortions; however, state and federal funds are already prohibited from being used to fund abortion services. This bill would instead impact the preventive care that Planned Parenthood provides for uninsured women throughout the state.

Abortions make up only “5 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services” in Pennsylvania.  The main role of Planned Parenthood is in providing “preventive care such as screening for cancer and sexually transmitted diseases along with providing birth control and prenatal testing.”  These services are essential for Pennsylvania women without health care and those without access to other health care providers. Last year, only “13,000 abortions [were] performed at eight of the 42 Planned Parenthood clinics,” as compared to the over 200,000 STD tests, almost 100,000 birth control prescriptions, and nearly 50,000 cancer screenings.  As a recent editorial in the Harrisburg Patriot explains,

If Metcalfe’s aim is to stop abortions, his approach is counterproductive. In many cases, women are getting from Planned Parenthood the reproductive education and birth control they need so they don’t end up with an unintended pregnancy that could lead to an abortion.

HB 2405 is just one of many bills introduced this session that aim to reduce or eradicate access to abortions in Pennsylvania. It is part of a growing trend of attacking both the clinics that provide abortions and the women who seek affordable and safe reproductive health care. The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and the Harrisburg Patriot all released editorials condemning the bill and urging representatives of both political parties to vote no.  Currently, HB 2405 is stalled in the House, though it and other bills with similar consequences could come up for a vote later in the year.

Multiple Planned Parenthood Sites Targeted by Anti-Abortion Group

Last week, over a period of five days, at least 12 Planned Parenthood clinics in 6 states were visited by people claiming to be involved in sex trafficking rings involving minors and illegal immigrants. After the unusual visits, the clinics notified their national office, who, despite suspicion that the visits were a possible hoax performed by opponents of abortion trying to discredit Planned Parenthood, reported the possibility of a multistate sex trafficking ring involving underage girls to the FBI.  Planned Parenthood released a statement on January 24 discussing the incidents, saying:

When Planned Parenthood learns of an operation that exploits young women, we vigilantly work with law enforcement authorities to uncover and stop this abhorrent activity. […] Planned Parenthood’s top priority is the health and safety of our patients and the health and well-being of women and teens across the country, and we have been in contact with federal and local authorities to identify the persons involved in these visits.

On Tuesday, more than a week after reporting the suspicious activity, PPFA’s hoax suspicions proved to be correct when the anti-abortion group Live Action released a video produced by its founder and president, 22-year-old Lila Rose (a former associate of James O’Keefe, the right-wing conservative in charge of creating videos which led to the disbanding of ACORN in 2009).  The heavily edited video shows an encounter between a staffer of the Perth Amboy, NJ, Planned Parenthood clinic and two Live Action members posing as a sex trafficker and a 14-year-old prostitute.  After viewing the tape, Planned Parenthood displayed their zero tolerance policy by firing the staffer for her behavior.

The video, which hopes to discredit Planned Parenthood, coincides with the announcement of Live Action’s new campaign entitled “Expose Planned Parenthood,” which hopes to promote a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would cut more than $75 million in federal money allotted yearly for family planning services to Planned Parenthood affiliates.  In a December interview with the Washington Post, Live Action’s Rose stated her goal was to “unnerve Planned Parenthood employees and eventually put them out of business.”

Planned Parenthood provides reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of women and men in over 820 health centers across the country. According to PPFA, “Abortion accounts for only 3 percent of the organization’s health services and that the federal money under attack goes toward family planning and preventative health care for women.” Without the help of federal money to support Planned Parenthood services, millions of women (especially low-income women) across the country would face difficulties in obtaining quality reproductive care, STD testing, birth control, and information and education on sex.

The Women’s Law Project stands with Planned Parenthood because of its long history of providing compassionate, quality health care services to women and men from all walks of life. You can sign a petition to stand alongside Planned Parenthood here.

Anti-abortion Activists Contest Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s Telemedicine Program

Last month, we discussed the medical abortion pill’s progress ten years after its FDA approval and noted that its approval hadn’t increased access to abortion as much as women’s health advocates had hoped. The Guttmacher Institute tells us that women in areas that already have surgical abortion access have an additional option, but for women in areas with limited or no surgical abortion access, mifepristone is not easily obtained either.

This is where telemedicine comes in, specifically the one run by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland in Iowa. The Women’s Health Policy Report describes the procedure as follows:

The telemedicine system allows Des Moines-based physicians to conduct video consultations with patients in rural clinics who are seeking abortion services and are no more than nine weeks pregnant. If a physician decides that a patient is an appropriate candidate for a medical abortion, he or she can use a computer command to remotely open a drawer in front of the patient. The patient removes the medication from the drawer and takes the first dose while the physician watches.

The service has increased access in rural areas where women are otherwise less likely to receive abortion services, but it’s now under threat of discontinuation. The Iowa Board of Medicine is considering changing its telemedicine policy due to a dozen anti-abortion activists who spoke out a public comment session last week. Iowa Right to Life Executive Director Jenifer Bowen presented a petition titled “Stop Web-cam Abortions in Iowa” that contains 3,900 signatures of those opposed to the telemedicine service.

According to the Women’s Health Policy Report, anti-abortion activists claim the service violates an Iowa law requiring that abortions be performed by a physician. However, Jill June, president of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, said the program’s legality was thoroughly researched.

The future of the telemedicine program hangs in the balance, but both sides of the debate acknowledge that the issue at hand is the right to abortion, rather than the procedure itself. Anti-abortion activists are rallying against the procedure as part of the larger agenda to ban abortion altogether. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s telemedicine system is the first in the United States, and has assisted more than 1,500 women. The Des Moines Register says an update is expected at the Iowa Board of Medicine’s meeting in December.

Health Care Reform and Reproductive Health

In an op-ed for the Saturday Delaware County Daily Times, Dayle Steinberg offers a clear-headed and thorough explanation for why health care reform needs to pay special attention to women’s health. Steinberg, who is President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA, points out that current basic packages often do not cover medications and procedures important to women’s health: “Family planning and related services are still not guaranteed inclusion in mainstream health plans — despite the fact that 98 percent of women use some form of contraception in their lifetime.”

Other procedures specific to women are often not covered, reflecting, perhaps, the lingering traces of male dominance that permeate many social structures, including the health care industry. “Women of childbearing age spend 68 percent more in health-care costs than do men,” writes Steinberg, “mostly due to reproductive health-related needs.” This is clearly unacceptable.

On a related note, an editorial in the Erie Times calls for poverty and teen pregnancy to be recognized and dealt with as connected issues, as both worsen in Erie. The editorial refuses to blame one scapegoat, acknowledging that many factors cause rates of teen pregnancy to rise. However, it is not a stretch to say that free or low-cost contraception would help prevent many pregnancies. In addition, free or low-cost reproductive health related services at all stages of life could be one way to help women break free of the “vicious cycle of poverty” that can start with an unplanned pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood Study Finds Ways to Decrease Infection With Abortion Pill

A new study by Planned Parenthood shows that the risk of infections associated with abortion pills can be decreased by taking the drugs orally (instead of vaginally) and with a concurrently prescribed course of antibiotics.  After infections and some deaths were associated with the pills in 2006, researchers became suspicious of a link to the vaginal route of administration. This study is the first to measure the changes made by many abortion providers after these infections, which include consuming the drug by tucking a pill between the gums and the cheek (rather than swallowing), known as the buccal method, and prescribing antibiotics. According to the New York Times, Planned Parenthood found that “infection rates dropped considerably, to 0.06 per 1,000 abortions, from 0.93 per 1,000” after making these changes.

The Times reports that the pill’s manufacturer, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Abortion Federation, among others, have declined to make judgments on the study until the results can be reviewed in more detail. Regardless, this study has the potential to help abortion providers make the rate complication of infection with this already safe procedure even less common.

Family Planning Concerns on the Rise with Economic Downturn

A story via the National Partnership for Women and Families reveals how the economic downturn is affecting women’s decisions about sex and family planning. Reports show that women and men are feeling great pressure and doubt when faced with decisions regarding pregnancy, resulting in women choosing abortion and men requesting vasectomies. The National Network of Abortion Funds reports that their national helpline has experienced a quadrupling of phone calls compared to one year ago from women in desperate situations. Planned Parenthood reports an increase in the number of women needing assistance in paying for birth control because of the economy’s effect on their financial situation. The only bright light in this situation comes from some experts’ predictions that the government may consider increasing public funding for contraception as a result of the economic downturn.

Senator Vitter Proposes to Cut Family Planning Funding

Family planning clinics across the country are facing serious attacks by a proposed amendment to the appropriations bill currently being debated in the US Senate. The amendment, introduced by Senator David Vitter (R-LA), would drastically cut family planning funding under Title X, which provides federal funds to family planning clinics and preventative health care. Title X, which we blogged about here, is an instrumental part of keeping family planning clinics, such as Planned Parenthood, open and able to serve communities across the country.

Support family planning clinics by signing this petition to stop Senator Vitter and his allies from moving forward with their anti-choice efforts.

Via Feminist Majority

Anti-choice activist still spreading misinformation

Earlier, we blogged about Ross Douthat’s op-ed in the New York Times contending that the anti-choice activists are not out of touch with mainstream Americans, which we exposed as a misrepresentation of the very radical goals of the movement. We also blogged about anti-choice activists’ sudden concern for the economy as they renewed their perpetual call for the government to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood to prevent unplanned pregnancies, treat sexually transmitted infections, screen patients for cancer, or educate teens about healthy sexuality.

Well, it appears that Mr. Douthat is at it again, with a blog post on the Atlantic’s website, complaining about Planned Parenthood counting each service they provide as – get this – separate services, and that even though abortions represent only 3% of Planned Parenthood’s services, it still means thousands of abortions each year. He then proceeds to compare Planned Parenthood and the pro-choice movement to Hezbollah.

Let’s start with the fact that each service is a separate service. A pregnancy test is not the same service as a pelvic exam, and obtaining a prescription for birth control is not the same as being treated for chlamydia. People like Mr. Douthat want to combine services together so that when Planned Parenthood releases reports on what services they’re providing, the percentage attributed to abortion services will increase. They will then use this information to demonize Planned Parenthood and other health clinics.

Secondly, even though 3% of Planned Parenthood’s services represent thousands of abortions, that means that 97% of their services are for millions of women and men who need other reproductive health care. With the state of the health care system being what it is, where, exactly, would those people go if the government withdrew its grants to Planned Parenthood and the organization lost fully one-third of its annual funding?

And as for comparing Planned Parenthood and the pro-choice movement to Hezbollah, Mr. Douthat is incredibly out of line. Last time we checked, the pro-choice activists weren’t the ones threatening to kill clinic doctors or inciting violence outside of clinics.  The pro-choice community simply believes in providing information and options to every person so that she or he can decide what is best for their particular situation. It’s interesting that a movement of information, options, and acceptance is what Mr. Douthat rails against so frequently.

Anti-choice activists want to increase the number of abortions

The Wall Street Journal reports that anti-choice activists have renewed their call for federal, state and local governments to stop granting money to Planned Parenthood. This is nothing new. However, they do have a new reason for why the government should contribute to increasing the number of unplanned pregnancies in the United States:

Abortion opponents are pressing state and local governments to stop sending taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood, arguing that the nonprofit group has plenty of cash and shouldn’t be granted scarce public funds at a time of economic crisis.

We have previously reported on the fact that women pay more for the exact same health coverage as men, health insurance companies often don’t cover contraception in their prescription plans, and that plans to revive the economy aren’t yet reflecting an investment in the industries in which most women are employed. If women aren’t receiving quality, low-cost reproductive health care at places like Planned Parenthood during this economic downturn, it is a near-certainty that the unplanned pregnancy rate will increase – the complete opposite of the professed goal of anti-choice groups.

And the services that Planned Parenthood provides with government funds aren’t even for abortions. (The Hyde Amendment has a hand in this.) The services provide millions of women and men across the country with free or low-cost contraception, sex education, and annual gynecological exams, among other things. Government funds account for fully one-third of Planned Parenthood’s budget. If this funding were taken away, our neighbors and friends would suffer needlessly and not only be more vulnerable to unplanned pregnancies, but also reduced access to STI screenings, cervical cancer tests, or sex education.