Planned Parenthood is one of the most controversial federally funded organizations currently running in the United States, clouded by controversy and misinformation. Planned Parenthood is a valuable organization that is one of the leading organizations that provides health care and sex education for people in the United States. Planned Parenthood, often referred to as PP, provides STI/STD screenings, mammograms, contraception, and abortions for women and men at the fraction of the normal cost.

Abortion is a hot topic in politics not only amongst our elected officials but the general public as well. The Republican party wants to defund PP for multiple reasons, but one major one is to stop taxpayer money from being spent on abortion. However, abortions are already not allowed to be federally funded, and abortion only makes up 3% of the services performed at Planned Parenthood.

Putting the abortion debate aside, Planned Parenthood’s other previously stated services help people in underserved communities by educating them and providing them low-cost services covered by things like Medicaid.

PP is also a leader in the women’s rights movement as they advocate for reproductive rights, Republicans consider Planned Parenthood an enemy as they seek out to attack a woman’s reproductive rights and take control of their bodies and what they do with it. With the conservative-preferred abstinence-based education’s ineffectiveness, Planned Parenthood is one of the only organizations that provide and advocate for comprehensive sex education, which has been proven to be more effective than abstinence-based sex ed, considering students who receive comprehensive sex ed ages 15-19 are 50% less likely to get pregnant than those who do not receive comprehensive sex ed.

Whether or not one supports abortion, it must be acknowledged that providing women expensive services like mammograms, pap smears, and cancer screenings or treatment at a lower cost is important and valuable for lower-income families and people. Taking away federal funding will cause people to be put in danger.

This isn’t an abortion issue, this an issue about the health and safety of the people in our country and accessible health care. Planned Parenthood has saved and can only continue to save lives if they have funding from the government.

Contrary to popular belief, it has already been argued that making abortion inaccessible will actually harm women because it will not stop abortion, it will just stop safe and legal abortion. Defunding Planned Parenthood is a useless idea, considering it will only put people in harm’s way and prevent women and other people from receiving affordable healthcare that can be covered by insurance.

The reason #IStandWithPP is because they advocate for women’s rights and reproductive right, help women access many forms of contraception (long and short-term), provide services like pap smears and mammograms at a low cost, and will help all people.

For more information go to https://www.plannedparenthood.org.