What's the Big Deal About Planned Parenthood?

PREPARE YOURSELF, this blog post is excessively long but very important to read if you care about women's health and reproductive justice. 

The threats to Planned Parenthood are overwhelming. There's so much false information out there, and so much accurate info to wade through, that it's hard to discern what's actually happening.
So, since I love lists, I made a list to state succinctly and accurately the threats that are facing PP.

Since everything good comes in threes, I've broken down my lists into three main questions, the ones I hear the most often: "What does Planned Parenthood do?" "What are the threats to it right now?" And "What can I do to stay protected?" Let's begin with what they do.

• Starting with the scary one that no one likes to talk about - Abortion Services. Planned Parenthood provides factual, non-judgmental information about your options, along with safe and compassionate abortion services.
• Abortion Referral. If your local Planned Parenthood doesn’t provide abortions, they can talk with your about your options and connect you with other providers in your area.
• Birth Control. Birth control is a safe way to prevent pregnancy and treat certain health problems. There are many types of birth control. We can help you find the best method for you.
• Emergency Contraception (Morning-After Pill). Accidents happen. Emergency contraception is a safe way to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex.
• General Health Care! That's right, they have regular old health care at PP. Seeing a nurse or doctor regularly can prevent illness, find problems that may need treatment, and help you stay healthy.
• HIV Services. HIV tests are quick and painless. And there are medications that can prevent HIV, and help people living with HIV live longer, healthier lives.
• LGBT Services. Planned Parenthood provides appropriate, high-quality health care for LGBT patients, including hormone therapy for transgender patients.
• Men's Health Services! Men can come to Planned Parenthood for health services addressing cancer, STDs, fertility, sexual dysfunction, birth control, and routine checkups.
• Patient Education. Planned Parenthood provides clear, accurate, up-to-date information to help you understand and care for your sexual and reproductive health.
• Pregnancy Testing & Services. Pregnancy is a big life event. We can help answer your questions, provide support, and make sure you get the care you need to stay healthy.
• STD Testing, Treatment & Vaccines. Fun fact: STDs are super common. But having safer sex, getting tested, and knowing your treatment options helps keep you (and your partners) healthy.
• Women's Services. Women can count on Planned Parenthood for essential health care like birth control, STD tests, pelvic exams, cancer screenings, mammograms, and pregnancy-related services.

So now that you know what they do, let's examine what the actual threats to it are. List #2!

• Attacks on Planned Parenthood Patients. In states around the country, anti-women's health legislators are trying to eliminate funding for family planning or block Planned Parenthood's participation in public health programs. 
• Targeted Restrictions of Abortion Providers (TRAP) Abortion Bans. Reproductive health care services are among the safest and mostly commonly sought forms of care in the U.S. But that hasn't stopped the anti-women's health movement from dialing up efforts to eliminate access to abortion through the introduction of TRAP bills and regulations that place unreasonable requirements on health care centers. 
• Unconstitutional Abortion Bans at Specific Weeks of Pregnancy. In the landmark case Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that the U.S. Constitution protects a woman's right to make her own medical decisions, including her decision to have an abortion. Therefore, a state may not ban abortion prior to viability. 
• Non-surgical Abortion Bans. Women in the United States have been safely and legally using non-surgical abortion for years, but anti-women's health activists have devoted significant attention to creating barriers and restrictions to block access.  In states where these restrictions have been passed, some women have been forced to have a surgical procedure when they would have chosen non-surgical abortion instead.Non-surgical abortion gives a woman the option of a more private and what may feel like a less invasive method of ending a pregnancy, in a setting in which she feels most comfortable. 
• Biased Counseling, Mandatory Ultrasounds, and Waiting Periods.Out-of-touch politicians in states across the country have moved forward with a line of attacks that put politicians in the middle of the personal, private, medical decisions that should be left to a woman, her faith, and her family in consultation with her doctors. This line of attack makes a woman jump through demeaning and time-consuming hoops before she can obtain a safe, legal abortion. Some of these bills:
• Impose mandatory waiting periods of up to 72 hours prior to an abortion after a woman's initial consultation with her doctor.
• Require ultrasounds before women can get an abortion. This burdensome regulation is sometimes imposed even on victims of rape and incest. Some ultrasound mandates require physicians to force a woman to view the ultrasound, and deliver politically motivated statements to the woman, even if she declines to view or listen to them.
• Force doctors to provide state-mandated, ideological scripts to their patients. 
• Require women to receive biased counseling from unlicensed, unaccredited, and unregulated "crisis pregnancy centers."

So what can we do to stay safe from these threats to our healthcare?

• Call Your Senator. Remind your lawmakers to #StandWithPP and #ProtectOurCare. We can't let up. Let's keep their phones ringing off the hook.
• Fight for Birth Control Access. HHS Secretary Tom Price is putting no-copay birth control coverage at risk. Demand that he and the administration protect full insurance coverage of birth control with no copay.
• Be a PP Defender. Defenders are a core group of supporters who have said they'll give their time to defend Planned Parenthood, the health services they provide, and the people who rely on them — in what just may be the fight of our lives. You can check out more about that at https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/act. 

It's a scary and tumultuous time for all of us, but let's not let fear and confusion keep us from fighting for our right to accessible health care.