The following "Local Viewpoints" post is a response to a Madeline Sanchez column printed in the Las Cruces Sun News:
First, the Sun-News headline said: "Taxpayers subsidizing barbarism of Planned Parenthood". That statement is false. Fact: Because of federal law (the Hyde amendment), "Title X funds may not be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning". That law has been in place for four decades and has very narrow exceptions such as incest, rape or danger to the mother's life. Planned Parenthood is funded through Title X Family Planning Program and through Medicaid.
Second, clinic patients must agree to donate the fetal tissue. There is no "sale" for profit. PP asks for a small amount that covers documentation and shipping costs.
Third, fetal tissue has been used for decades in scientific research for Parkinson's disease, Ebola and AIDS.
Fourth, abortions are only a tiny percentage of Planned Parenthood's services; about three percent. Testing for sexually transmitted diseases and contraceptive services comprise seventy percent of the patient care PP provides. (2014 PP Report)
Sanchez's commentary offered little in the way of factual content. Instead, she filled her column with gruesome details gleaned from a video produced by a shady group calling itself "Center for Medical Progress". CMP regularly releases new and doctored PP attack videos to news media. Every reputable news source that has viewed those videos report they are heavily edited and note that they are part of a long-term effort to smear Planned Parenthood.
Stepping back from doctored videos and repugnant descriptions, I now focus on what may happen if Planned Parenthood were actually "defunded".
Women and young girls with few resources could not easily obtain contraceptives or be counseled about safe sexual activity. Unplanned pregnancies can happen in every strata of society but when a young woman is attending school, working part-time and has no health insurance, she can turn to Planned Parenthood. The clinics have served the underserved for 100 years.
A married woman, perhaps even a single mother, cannot financially afford to bear another child. Where does she go for contraceptives and health screening? Planned Parenthood has been there for 100 years.
An unemployed female with no health insurance realizes she has a suspicious lump in her breast. What can she do? She can be tested at a Planned Parenthood Clinic.
A college sophomore suspects her sexual partner may have transmitted a sexual disease to her, a disease that if unchecked could render her unable to have children. Where can she go for testing and treatment? The nearest Planned Parenthood Clinic.
Medical research in a number of diseases would be slowed considerably if fetal tissue were not available.
It's tough to talk about but how many abused infants and toddlers were the product of an unplanned pregnancy and would welfare rolls decrease if contraceptives were free?
So many dominoes fall when an unplanned pregnancy enters a woman's life. Not all pregnancies are easy. Not all childbirth is easy. On a personal note, one of my sisters-in-law suffered from post-partum depression, a term we were not familiar with in the early 1960s. A co-worker of mine developed pregnancy-induced high blood pressure which is a risk to both mother and baby. Pregnancy is risky despite all the fuzzy sentimentality associated with motherhood. Women should be ready to accept the responsibility of a new life while healthy physically and emotionally.
Most unplanned pregnancies can be prevented with modern contraceptive methods and the availability of a "morning after" pill. Preventing pregnancies prevents abortions.
Once more: preventing unplanned pregnancies is the surest way to prevent abortions.
Editor’s note: This “Local Viewpoints” column is a rebuttal to a Madeline Sanchez commentary printed in the Las Cruces Sun News on August 13, 2015.