Sexual and reproductive health is imperative to men and women around the country. It is the basis for avoiding the spread of STD’s and unwanted pregnancies. Despite this, the current administration and Republican party seem to push for abstinence only sex education, the limit or banning of abortion, and the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Regardless of whether this stems from strict religious beliefs, or lack of knowledgeable insight, it is nevertheless more important than ever to save education. Planned Parenthood is crucial to the sexual health of Americans, and should be preserved because of the educational, and medical care benefits that they offer.
Theoretically, the very first step in slowing the amount of unwanted pregnancies, and STD’s, is with educating our youth. Unfortunately, when 27 states require sexual education must stress abstinence, we are left with a fundamental problem that requires addressing (Guttmacher, 2017). That is if, and only if, sexual education is offered. It is only required by 24 states and the District of Colombia, that sex ED is taught (Guttmacher, 2017). When abstinence-only sex ED is instilled, it quite possibly could have short-term success, but long-term results usually end in negative attitudes and intentions (Abstinence, 2008). In fact, a statement from the Advocates for Youth, backed by several federally-funded state evaluations says, “Abstinence-only education programs are not effective at delaying the initiation of sexual activity or in reducing teen pregnancy” (Abstinence, 2008). Without the proper knowledge of contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, or reproductive health, the rates of young girls getting pregnant continue to be staggering. A combination of recorded births from both The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), and the National Vital Statistics System helped compile a comprehensive look at the amount of unplanned pregnancies there were in 2013. Guttmacher Institute put together the information that, “In 2013, 456,000 women younger than 20 became pregnant. Some 448,000 of those pregnancies were among 15–19-year-olds, and 7,400 were among those aged 14 and younger” (Kost, Maddow-Zimet & Arpaia, 2017). When girls as young as 14 continue to get pregnant, there is a need for sexual education reform in America for these teens. In addition to this, only, “…20 states require information on condoms or contraception” (Guttmacher, 2017). Not only is condom usage, or other means of contraception essential for stopping unwanted pregnancies, it is also to stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. A startling, “1 in 4 teens contract a sexually transmitted disease every year” due to negligence, or ignorance to the idea of safe sex (DoSomething, N.D.). In 2010, just in Arizona, there were 61,000 unintended pregnancies (State, 2017). Out of these pregnancies, 24,200 of them led to births that were publically funded, contributing to $670.9 million spent from both federal and state governments (State, 2017). If we start with educating adolescents on the full scope of sexual activity, we could stop and diminish these upsetting statistics. Despite the obvious negative effects this education plan has, the government continues to put tax-payer dollars towards abstinence only programs. Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) reported that, “Between 1996 and federal Fiscal Year 2010, Congress funneled a total of over one-and-a-half billion tax-payer dollars into abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and the funding continues today” (SIECUS, n.d.). A plan that has failed these children time and again is continually financed, instead of the obvious solution of just offering the full sexual education. Many people are worried that bringing sex ED into schools would cost several times how much we are currently spending, however, The Advocates for Youth report, “There is no dedicated federal funding stream for comprehensive sex ED programs. This faulty analysis pretends that federal funding for health services for low income women and adolescents is, instead, funding for comprehensive sex education. It is not” (Abstinence, 2008). Until we see a change in how we teach our children about their bodies, it will continue to result in disease and pregnancy. In addition to this, when the pregnancy is unplanned, and the mother does not wish to bring the child to full term, there should be affordable and safe abortions available to her.
A woman’s ability to choose what happens to her body, is her fundamental right. This set of rights includes the right to terminate a pregnancy, for any reason. There are several ways to terminate an unintentional pregnancy. There is an abortion pill, and an in-clinic abortion, also known as a surgical abortion. A surgical abortion happens after a discussion with your health care provider, and typically before your 12th week of pregnancy. There are two different kinds of in-clinic abortions; vacuum aspiration, and Dilation and Evacuation (D&E). Vacuum aspiration, also known as suction abortion, uses gentle suction to empty the uterus. The D&E abortion uses both suction and medical tools to empty the uterus. Both procedures happen no later than 14-16 weeks after her last period, depending on restrictions within the state (Parenthood, n.d.). Since 2010, the amount of restrictions on abortions has been 338 in total. In 2016 alone there were 50 new restrictions on abortion put into place for 18 states (Nash, Gold, Ansari-Thomas, Cappello & Mohammed, 2016). Regardless of restrictions made, a woman’s ability to decide if, and when to have a child is ultimately her choice. Only that individual woman knows the best option for her, her body, and her life. Forcing women to carry an unwanted child is potentially damaging. Unplanned children can lead to difficulty in earning a high school diploma, lead to conflict and dissatisfaction in relationships, and could have lasting negative effects on a child when a parent is a child themselves (Sonfield, Hasstedt, Kavanaugh & Anderson, 2013). However, having the ability to choose reaps both social and economic benefits for women. Autonomy over her body leads to success in attainment of postsecondary education, employment with increased earning power, and more stable marriages. In 2014, there were 652,639 legally induced abortions in the United States, as reported by the Center for Disease Control (CDC, 2016). Planned Parenthood accounted for 323,999 of these abortions in 2014 (Strickland, 2016). Despite Republicans adamant condemnation of the organization, such as Paul Ryan stating, “We don't want to commit taxpayer funding for abortion, and Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider” (Bradner, 2017) Planned Parenthood’s amount of abortions actually only account for 3% of all its services (Strickland, 2016). These sizable numbers stress the obvious need for safe abortions in the United States. Abortion services cost a significant amount to perform overall, a large portion of these for impoverished women. For the fiscal year in 2010, “The states spent $68 million on about 181,000 abortion procedures for low-income women” (Sonfield & Gold, 2016). These abortions performed are crucial to the woman, especially when so many women under the poverty line are in need of the service. Abortions can cost anywhere from $0-$950 depending on the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, and how far along the pregnancy is (Cost, n.d.). It is no wonder men and women are fighting for Planned Parenthood to continue to be funded, when the service is needed by so many. Expenditures of Federal Funding for Planned Parenthood Federation of America totaled $126.20 million in 2010, $112.69 in 2011, and $105.63 in 2012 for a combined sum of $344.52 million (GAO, 2015). With the steady decline in federal funding, and the imminent fear of complete defunding of Planned Parenthood, it is obvious as to why women across the county are up in arms. When Planned Parenthood prevents an estimated 579,000 unintended pregnancies every year, there is a reason to keep it governmentally funded (Strickland, 2017).
Planned Parenthood offers so much more than abortions. “Planned Parenthood claims to be the largest provider of reproductive health services in the United States, offering sexual and reproductive health care, education and outreach to nearly 5 million women, men and adolescents annually worldwide” (Strickland, 2017). With 650 health centers in the United States, and 60 million visits by men and women annually, the presence of these health centers is a necessity (Strickland, 2017). This is especially imperative when organizations that support the spread of education on the human sexuality like the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States received no funding for the fiscal 2012 year (GAO, 2015). PP provides answers to questions that are posed by America’s youth, when programs like abstinence-only sexual education let vital information fall through the cracks.
Organizations like Planned Parenthood are vital to the sexual and reproductive health of men and women in the US. When schools fail to give kids the proper information through the ineffective abstinence-only sexual education plans, Planned Parenthood helps fill in the gaps. PP also provides abortions to women of all social classes that are not yet ready to bring a child into the world. The current administration’s attempt to completely defund Planned Parenthood is selfish, and negligent to the needs of women. The government should continue to provide funding for Planned Parenthood because they offer sexual education, affordable and safe abortions, and a reassurance that our body’s sexual mysteries can be answered by a caring professional.