Family planning and politics should not be mixed. Planned parenthood provides safe, and affordable medical procedures as well as contraception to men and women in America. I usually side with republicans on political issues. The republican stance on planned parenthood is usually negative. Republicans tend to identify as pro-life, which is anti abortion. I can say this is an issue where I believe the democrats are in the right. Pro-choice is the way to be. This being said I still believe that politics should have no say in a women’s right to choice. The only reason planned parenthood is a political topic is because the federal government funds most of it.
The argument that anti planned parenthood people argue is that if someone is not responsible enough to have a child, they should not get pregnant in the first place. Planned parenthood makes it possible for women to not get pregnant and practice safe sex. Only 3% of planned parenthood activities include abortions. The other 97% is disease and cancer screening and treatment, and contraception. Someone walking into planned parenthood to be screened for a disease or receive a contraception treatment shows that they are quite responsible and are taking care of themselves. This goes to show that 97% of planned parenthood provides positive rests for everyone, even pro-life supporters. That being said people are still judging this organization on 3% of their activity.
In the 3% of activity being provided being abortions, it is still hard to argue that receiving an abortion procedure is irresponsible. To me, having an abortion is more responsible than carrying out an unwanted pregnancy, only to have the child put up for adoption, or be raised somewhere where proper care is not abundant. A teenage girl, who made the mistake of unprotected sex, should not have to go through a pregnancy. If someone is not mature enough to raise a child abortion through planned parenthood is a safe way to not ruin a young woman’s life. It shows responsibility and maturity if a young woman realizes she can not physically or mentally handle a pregnancy, and takes action to terminate it. If a sixteen year old girl has to carry out a pregnancy, even to put the baby up for adoption, the pregnancy would be mentally and physically taxing on her. However, if she is able to safely terminate the pregnancy there would be a lot less physical and mental stress on the young woman.
In the United States 397,000 children are in foster care or waiting to be adopted. So when the argument “just have the baby and put it up for adoption” is said, tell the newborn baby that they are 400,000th in line. Foster care is less than desirable. Many children will grow up in several foster homes, and not many young couples want to adopt a thirteen year old boy when they can try to adopt a newborn and raise them as their own. Abortion is a tool that can be used to help older child adoption. No child or teenager deserves to not be loved by a family, and pro-life just enables more and more teens to go through foster care until they are adults and are sent to fend for themselves. After watching a presentation on older child adoption during senior project week in my High School I was totally convinced that abortion can help the almost 400,000 children waiting to be adopted in our country alone. The girl presenting shared her story about how she waited fifteen years in foster care, bouncing from home to home until age fifteen when she was permanently adopted by her current family. She felt that if there was a lack of newborns, she would have not spent fifteen years in different foster homes.
Politicians unfortunately have to have a stance on planned parenthood, it is what the American people want. Drama will always play into politics before the greater good will.
Pat Ell 