Why would Governor Scott defund Planned Parenthood?

Rick Scott recently failed to veto a Bill that excludes Planned Parenthood from receiving funding strictly due to the fact they perform abortion services. For those that don’t know, Planned Parenthood cannot actually use the money provided by the government to perform abortions, that’s prohibited by Title X. So why is this an issue? Proponents of the new legislation argue since the money goes towards things like paying for the electricity of the facility, it is the equivalent of subsidizing abortions directly with government money.

It’s 2016 and people are still squabbling over the right to have (and in this case provide) a safe abortion. This time legislators specifically target one of the largest sources of healthcare for low-income women and men in the country.

In this Bill, federal funding will be removed from Planned Parenthood, but will also require every physician working in a clinic to have admitting privileges at a hospital, and the hospital needs to be within a “reasonable distance” of the clinic, however vague that may be.

Not only is this Bill yanking services from from the 79 percent of people who use them that live 150 percent or more under the poverty line, but it is also making it more difficult for those who live in rural areas to receive any services at all from the health services provider. Many locations will be forced to close down or move, which may not always be possible. Many of the Republican legislators who voted in favor of the bill staunchly refuse to admit this is an attempt to ban abortion, instead choosing to hide behind a transparent paternalistic mindset of just “trying to keep women safe.”

With all due respect, I think medical safety should be a concern left in the hands of those who actually attended medical school, and know what they’re doing.

When anti-abortion groups came to campus

Planned Parenthood releases their service statistics annually, and only 3-12% (estimates vary) of their 10.6 million services were abortions. That means they are disregarding the other 97% that includes male and female contraception, STI/STD testing and treatment, pregnancy tests, HIV treatments and screening, and health education. Focusing on the 3% not only lacks any sound logical reasoning, but is a clear indication of the disregard for any low-income persons looking for safe, affordable healthcare by our state legislation.

A woman’s choice on how to handle her pregnancy is between her and her doctor, not her and the State of Florida, and certainly not between her and Governor Rick Scott. It is not only frightening to myself, but also to numerous young women at Florida State who feel like this is a misrepresentation of Planned Parenthood as simply an abortion provider, and an attack on their healthcare choices. There is a clear and abrupt disconnect between what you think is ethically licit to conduct in the name of legislation, and what the affected parties of your choices feel is morally upright.

A twenty year old female at FSU fears for the repercussions on younger women with limited financial freedom.

“Dependents from underprivileged households won’t be able to receive the care and support they need when they decide to become sexually active. In a society where the standard age of this choice is rapidly declining, it’s considerably frightening to think of those kids who won’t be able to be served without financial responsibility. There are many more aspects to Planned Parenthood than simply abortion-related activities.”

Often, the greatest criticism of Planned Parenthood and it’s choice to include abortions in its services are those of a religious background. Things like “remaining abstinent is the safest birth control” are common to hear when issues of sexually active teens not receiving care is brought forward.

The problem is this: not everyone is religious, and out of those people who ARE religious, they may not share the same or similar values. Choosing to represent only those people who share your religious values as a state representative defines you as nothing more than someone who should have probably chosen a different profession. 

People are going to have sex, that’s a fact. Trying to create laws that coerce people to stop having sex is just not going to work, as we have seen so many times over in states where abstinence only teaching often occurs along with the highest rates of teen pregnancy and STD rates in teens and young adults. I have a distinct fear this Bill serves no other purpose than to take a major swing at Planned Parenthood, and guarantee the near eradication of every other small women’s clinic that performs abortion services. All that House Bill 1411 has to offer is a guaranteed increase of disease rates, and a guaranteed decrease in the sexual safety of the average person.

When Texas defunded Planned Parenthood, the backlash was enormous. The unintentional pregnancy and birth rate among women in low-income areas rose due to the lack of affordable contraception, and many pregnant women in turn had no immediate prenatal care.

Because of this, many more women than usual filed for government assistance as well, costing taxpayers even more. It is difficult to imagine why Gov. Scott would refuse to veto, knowing the many possible results of the Bill while simultaneously living in the county that repeatedly ranks the highest in STD’s in the entire state. Since 2008, the average Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and Syphilis rates in Leon County are three times higher than the rest of Florida. The age range for most of these people are teenagers (13-19) and early twenties (20-24), the people who most likely would visit Planned Parenthood for services related to treatment.

These are real people, and this Bill has real consequences for every single one of them. Taking the short-sighted approach to make a point hurts every single one of these people your position permits you to care for. 

Considering there is only one Planned Parenthood in all of Leon County, and the next closest is 127 miles away, I think Governor Scott should be working to include more centers offering the types of contraception and safety education that Planned Parenthood does to curtail this incredible epidemic of STD’s in the very county he lives in.

Defunding the singular Planned Parenthood ensures that low-income women will lose their ability to receive affordable birth control, to take a pregnancy test, to learn about everything that adoption entails in the event of pregnancy, and the ability to receive an affordable or free STD and HIV screening. Without these, any number of people could go about their day unaware of their infectious status. That’s not only an incredibly serious and completely justified health concern, but a failure of the moral obligation you consequently hold as an elected official of the state.

On behalf of women throughout the state of Florida, I urge you to uphold your moral and legal obligation to stand by the constitutional rights of every person within your reach, and to remember that any obstruction of these rights is not only a failure to represent those who elected you, but a choice that historically comes with vast and disgraceful legal consequences. 

When you fund Planned Parenthood, you aren’t funding abortions. You’re letting a young woman with no alternate access to healthcare take responsibility of her health. You’re making sure that the boy who just received his first STD in college can get a timely treatment, and an embarrassing mistake doesn’t become something life-threatening. You’re providing a pregnant woman the supplements and care she couldn’t afford otherwise. You’re preventing the young mom with one child already from finding herself in another impossible situation. This isn’t funding abortions, this is how you prevent them.