Protesters for and against the U.S. Congress’s proposed defunding of Planned Parenthood stood with signs expressing their views on the debate outside the regional clinic’s office off Crossover Road in Fayetteville last week.
While Congress passed a stop-gap bill that avoided another government shutdown by the Oct. 1 deadline, the bill will continue funding the government at current levels until December, where many GOP members may use the bill to confront President Obama about abortion policies and the federal funding of Planned Parenthood.
Under current funding, Planned Parenthood receives more than $500 million throughout the fiscal year to provide healthcare services to women — none of which is used on abortions. Abortions make up 3 percent of the services they provide, according to the healthcare provider’s IRS information.
Planned Parenthood provides 2.7 million Americans annually with cancer screenings, birth control and STI testing, according to the organization’s website.
The fire of the debate was fanned back in August after a series of videos secretly recorded by an anti-abortion group were released, and were later found to be edited to imply Planned Parenthood affiliates illegally profit from selling fetal tissue and occasionally cause stillbirths. Following their release, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson terminated the state’s Medicaid contract. However, on Sept. 18, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker ruled that the state can’t cut off funding.
According to state officials, Planned Parenthood received $51,000 in Medicaid funds over the past fiscal year. However, none of those funds paid for abortions.
Solicitor General Lee Rudofsky filed a notice Monday, Oct. 5, that the state would appeal Baker’s order.
Protesters on either side spoke their mind about what they were peacefully fighting for.
“I think it would be very bad for women’s healthcare in general (if Planned Parenthood was defunded),” said Ida Lovin, a supporter for Planned Parenthood. “You would see some deaths and an explosion of teenage pregnancy, STDs, all the stuff that Planned Parenthood helps with. Basically the Republican congress has got a war going on women. They’re defunding our health care, taking away our choice over our own bodies. We fought hard for those rights. So these signs are a backlash against that.”
Those for the defunding of Planned Parenthood were participating in 40 Days for Life, a worldwide movement that intends to end the pracitce of abortions through 40 day prayer vigils outside of the clinics.
“We’re praying that abortion would end in our community,” said Sheena Archambault, campaign coordinator. “It leaves wounds that have to be healed and dealt with later. We want this clinic to shut down.”
Archambault said that they gave out kits that provided information about local options and alternatives to abortion, such as adoption and pregnancy care centers, as well as information about an abortion reversal pill.
“All the other arguments, rape, incest, financial hardship, drug addiction, whatever you want to come up with, those arguments really break down whenever you say, what if it were a 5-year-old?” Archambault said.
“Even the question about Planned Parenthood and all the other services for women it provides, ‘We can’t defund it.’ I’m saying what if they were killing 5-year-olds? You wouldn’t be talking about all the other things you think they’re doing.”
An estimated one in five women have visited a Planned Parenthood clinic in their lifetime, and 75 percent of the $500 million in federal funding Republicans hope to eliminate comes from Medicaid reimbursements used to treat those who cannot afford health care.
“One of the big reasons that abortion is the issue that it is, is because contraception is not safe and it’s inaccessible, besides the facts that we have social mores that shame women about sex,” Lovin said.
“That’s still very active. Men in general do not take responsibility for contraception. Why isn’t there a pill for men? Women have to take hormone disrupting medicines as contraception. Behind that you can use condoms and spermicides, and they aren’t that effective. We have a layer of issues, but if we chose to, we could make it work. We’re just choosing not to.”
Since 2011, six states have already passed laws defunding Planned Parenthood. An estimated one-and-a-half abortion clinics end up closing each week. A month ago, an arsonist set a Planned Parenthood on fire near Los Angeles.