As a woman and a health care provider, I am tremendously concerned about the effect on women’s health care of the Republicans’ plan to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. Women as a whole are statistically poorer as a group than men (earning less for the same work, or simply earning less and spending more as a result of child-care or elder-care responsibilities), and the requirements of the ACA (coverage for maternity care, no exclusions for pre-existing conditions, and provision of income-related federal assistance) have begun to close the gender gap in health care access in our country, provisions it is crucial to preserve.
Targeting Planned Parenthood for defunding is especially concerning, given it’s long and important role in women’s health care in this country. Statistically, one in five women in the U.S. (including, once upon a time, me) will visit a Planned Parenthood clinic at least once in her lifetime. And because Planned Parenthood largely serves low-income women, women of color, young women, and immigrant women, these especially-vulnerable members of our own community stand to take the hardest hit to their health if this “safety net” provider is blocked from receiving federal funds. Oftentimes, Planned Parenthood is the single access point of primary care for many of its patients, including women on Medicaid and the uninsured.
In fact, many people are unaware that 85-95 percent of the services provided by Planned Parenthood are women’s preventive and primary care services, including cancer screening and prevention, prenatal services, urinary, reproductive and breast health, and both contraception and adoption referral. It also provides support and supplies for new mothers, and screening, counseling and referral for women trapped in domestic abuse situations.
Those who object to Planned Parenthood’s assistance to women seeking abortions need be aware that abortion assistance amounts to only 3 percent of the health services provided by this crucial organization; most of their services by far contribute to the health and well-being of women and children already on the planet. That sounds like “pro-life” in action to me.
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