"I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves" - Mary Shelley. Mary Shelley’s great words still speak today as the issue of Planned Parenthood’s funding has risen. The Republicans in the US House of Representatives, along with the help of some Democrats, may pass a bill aimed at barring Planned Parenthood from receiving federal aid for any purpose. With the introduction by Mike Pence, this ruling would cut reimbursements for medical services such as cancer-saving tests, STD testing, oral contraceptives, and other kindnesses. Planned Parenthood is a vital access to healthcare for millions of men and women around the U.S. There are several misconceptions about where the Planned Parenthood’s funding comes from and how it is used. The federal government does not happily send trucks full of dollar bills to every Planned Parenthood in the country. Firstly, Planned Parenthood files a claim for it’s services to Medicaid, and Medicaid reimburses Planned Parenthood. Then, the state Medicaid bills the government for all of it’s claims statewide. Finally, the government repays the state as part of the state’s costs. Another large …show more content…
Only 3% of all the health services Planned Parenthood provides are abortions (Canal 1). Statistics show that Planned Parenthood’s services, such as cancer screens, saved just under 90,000 lives between 2012 and 2013 (Canal). Another earth-shattering fact was brought into light by Karen Shea, the director of medical standards at Planned Parenthood Federation of America: Planned Parenthood had provided nearly 500,000 breast exams and 400,000 Pap tests just in 2014 (Canal). These numbers may not be as large as some people would like, but breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. The number of lives begin to add up when there isn’t a low income forgiving organization such as Planned