Why we need Planned Parenthood

On Nov. 27, a man went to a Colorado Planned Parenthood with an assault-style rifle, killed three innocent people and injured nine others.Republican Presidential Candidates Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina have all publicly voiced their plans to shut down the women’s health organization, with Trump even calling Planned Parenthoods “abortion factories.”Planned Parenthood facilities across America have seen all forms of violence from anti-abortion protesters; since 1977, eight abortion providers have been murdered and there have been over 200 bombings and arson attacks on clinics that provide abortion. But what is it all for? Planned Parenthood is not just a service, it’s a necessity. To defund it would be a travesty and direct attack on women. And, for political candidates, preaching against it would just be a way to get votes. But those votes would greatly harm the welfare of thousands, if not millions, of women and men.First, let’s talk about where all these attacks come from. Society places value on and fetishizes women’s purity like it’s a cherished trophy: glistening and valuable. We live in a world that tells us that girls need to be dominated and tamed, and that women are only meant to be child-breeders who shouldn’t feel in anyway powerful in their sexuality. Women who are strong are seen as threats to the fragile “masculinity” of insecure men.Writer Chimamanda Ngozi famously said in a speech on feminism, “We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way boys are.” It’s not surprising there’s so much fear around Planned Parenthood because it illustrates the fact that, yes, women do have sex, and yes, women do need to have proper care for their body and sexual health.And why should those things be bad? Planned Parenthood has done so much good since Margaret Sanger founded it in 1946 and empowering women to be proud and in charge of their own bodies is just one of those things.For one, it prevents unplanned pregnancies. According to the Guttmacher Institute, publicly funded family planning centers like Planned Parenthood helped women avoid 2 million unwanted pregnancies in 2013 by providing 3,577,348 couples with information about birth control and the means to obtain it. In addition, that year, Planned Parenthood provided more than 487,000 breast exams and almost 4.5 millions tests and treatments for STDs. More than just for health, Planned Parenthood also saves taxpayers money. Texas, the state with the third highest teen-pregnancy rate, shut down 14 Planned Parenthoods in 2011, an action that is estimated to cost taxpayers up to $273 million dollars. Unwanted children for low-income families means more welfare costs and thus higher taxes for those in the state.Furthermore, what about the sexual education classes that Planned Parenthood provides? Studies have shown that kids who receive comprehensive sex-ed in their teens actually wait longer to have sex, are less likely to have unwanted pregnancies and are less likely to become infected by STDs and STIs. With factual sex-ed only being required in 18 states, Planned Parenthood programs at schools like Samo are needed desperately to create a healthy youth.For all the attacks on Planned Parenthood, and other women’s health organizations, it is clear that these clinics do far more good for communities than they do harm, if there even is any. Fear-mongering and violence are scary but there is a saying at Planned Parenthood: “These doors stay open.” We need to make sure they do.