Bill H.R.3134 Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 was introduced by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-6) in the House. This bill calls to call to prohibit for a year the availability of federal funds for Planned Parenthood, and it was passed in the House, but failed to do so in the Senate. Remarkably, Steve King (R-IA-4) voted present, and Charlie Dent (R-PA-15), Robert Dold (R-IL10), and Richard Hanna (R-NY-22), all Republicans voted against the bill. On the other hand, only 2 members of the Democratic party, voted in favor of the bill, these congressmen are Daniel Lipinski (D-IL-3) and Collin Peterson (D-MN-7). Contrastingly, the identical bill, S.1836, in the senate introduced by Senator Lankford James (R-OK) failed to pass. Despite its failure, it was cosponsored by 4 Republican senators, these are James Inhofe (R-OK), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Jeff Sessions (R-AL). Throughout this essay, I will be explaining the bill and its legislative history, as well as bringing to light the different interests at stake in this process. To begin, H.R.3134, is more specifically a prohibition on the availability of federal funds to go to Planned Parenthood and its partners for a year, until they certify that their company and its associates won’t perform nor provide funds to other institutions that perform abortions during this period of time. However, women who want to terminate their pregnancies during this period, due to rape, incest, or life endangerment, are allowed to do
This current debate whether Planned Parenthood should be funded by the Federal Government is a hot issue in the current election. It has become, not only a nationwide issue, but also worldwide where people from all around the world are able to put in their input on the argument. There are many people who
Abortion has always been an extremely controversial issue. There are, and will probably always be many different views concerning the ethical acceptability as well as the social policy aspects of abortion. In fact, before the decision made in the famous court case of Roe v. Wade, abortion was morally wrong and was constituted as a crime that could lead to a prison sentence of up to five years. In Roe v. Wade, many unsettled questions were avowed and discussed.
In Texas (Texas being the first state in America to cancel Medicaid funding), Governor Abbot recently informed Planned Parenthood that the state is cutting off the organization from the state’s Medicaid program stated by Andy Sullivan in the article “Texas Tries To Stitch a Safety Net without Planned Parenthood”, as recently released undercover videos show evidence of violations. Another huge thing they have been under fire for is whether or not they are making a profit off of abortions, if they are making a profit off of abortions the government strongly
H.R.7 No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017 is a proposed legislation that would put the Hyde Amendment into permanent affect (govtrack2017). This would ban all federal funds and all federally funded health care coverages from paying for elective abortions (congress2017). The only time the coverage of an abortion would be covered is if the mother was raped, incest had occurred, or the mother’s life was at risk (Congress2017). This legislation would also make it illegal for someone to get an abortion by a federal employee or at a federal clinic (govtrack2017). Despite the abortion taking place, whether it was legal or illegal, insurance would cover any complications (policy.house). The No
Planned Parenthood is an organization that provides healthcare and education to both men and women, having over 650 health centers that provide healthcare to countless communities around the world. Shockingly, 78% of those who use Planned Parenthoods services live at or below 150% of the federal poverty line, showing how important this organization is to low-income families (Topulos, Greene, Drazen). Their mission statement is “A Reason for Being”, which is shown through their efforts to provide health care, advocate public policies, create educational programs, and endorse research. There are those who do not believe Planned Parenthood should be funded by the government, though, due to the fact that they provide abortions to women in need. Studies show that the effects of not having Planned Parenthood available are disastrous, causing low-income families to lack a healthcare provider and the number of those who are infected with STD’s and STI’s to rise. The biggest concern communities have about the government defunding Planned Parenthood is the effects that it would have on low-income families who would no longer have access to something that many people take for granted: health care. Although many believe that Planned Parenthood mostly provides abortions, in reality, only 3% of the people that seek help from them receive an abortion, while 97% receive affordable and, in many cases,
One of the main reasons for the support of defunding is the fact that the clinics perform abortions. Abortion is legal according to the Supreme Court as of 1973 and should not used a reason to support the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood was founded in New York City in 1916 as the first birth control center offered to women. The clinics did not start offering abortions until the 1970s when the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that “the constitutional right to privacy also applies to a woman’s decision, in consultation with her doctor, to have an abortion” (Planned Parenthood). Also according to Planned parenthood, the court recognized in Roe v. Wade, not only a woman’s constitutional right to choose, but that the state may prohibit an abortion after a certain point in the pregnancy, except when the mother’s life is in danger. Many states do have laws in place that prohibit abortion after a certain number a weeks, which varies from state-to-state. Using abortion as an excuse for defunding of Planned Parenthood is irrelevant because it is legal according to the Supreme Court of the United
There are a lot of cultural beliefs and biases that impact the stance that people choose to take regarding defunding Planned Parenthood. The biggest, and most obvious, belief is religion – namely Christianity. As a Christian myself, I tend to feel perplexed when this issue is brought up, because I know what I believe and how I feel, but I feel as though it is not my place, or the government’s, to get involved in this decision. Most Christians believe that abortion is a huge sin, as you are taking the life of a human away. With that, most have the distorted belief that all Planned Parenthood does is abortions, when it is only three percent of what they do, and it is not funded in any way, shape, or form federally, per a law former President Obama put in place (Parenthood 2017).
Planned parenthood has been a topic of controversy the last couple of years, as people throughout the nation ask whether or not the healthcare organization should be defunded. When video footage was released in 2015 of “Planned Parenthood medical officials discussing the sale of fetal tissue to researchers,” it seemed likely that federal funds would be revoked as backlash from the public was noted (Welch). Although the nonprofit organization does offer the termination of unplanned pregnancies, the organization offers many more services to women and men, such as free birth control and yearly health checkups “backed by medical experts and more than 100 years of research in reproductive health” (Planned Parenthood). As many people struggle financially to provide for their families, Planned Parenthood’s services are a relief to those who otherwise would not be able to afford healthcare, which is why the organization should not be defunded.
Texas has a long history of conflict with the federal government over laws and policies, particularly when dealing with environmental, social, and educational issues. Texas has conservative right-wing views and has been in conflict more often with the federal government since President Obama has been in office. The dilemma generally arises from a clash in opposing political and social views. One major issue that has arisen in over the course of the last two years has been a battle over funding for Planned Parenthood. Although the courts have deemed that this quarrel is not about abortion rights or access to abortion, the truth of the matter is that it really is. Texas leaders are against abortion and are trying to skirt federal law that allows abortion by imposing their personal agenda opposing abortion or anything that seemingly supports abortion on the Texas people. The problem is that in the midst of this chaos, low-income women of Texas are the ones who are suffering through the loss of basic and preventative healthcare.
Millions of women across America will struggle to receive the medical attention they need if the federal government stops funding to Planned Parenthood. Every year 363 million dollars goes into the funding “pot” collectively at Planned Parenthood’s nationwide (Clark 5). This money is used predominantly by women; for six in ten women, Planned Parenthood acts as their main source of health care (Clark 4). Many individuals with low incomes depend on these clinics to maintain or help better their health. Recently, the federal government is trying to pass the Pence Amendment, which would eliminate funding to these institutions. The federal government needs to realize how important Planned Parenthood
The Affordable Care Act was a funded mandate issued by the federal government use funding to help persuade states in implementing the new healthcare reform. With almost half the country, including Texas, refusing to enact Obamacare, there is an obvious difference between what the states and the federal government want. The controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood and similar clinics is the ethical debate of abortion. Single-issue groups, interest groups that primarily focus on one specific issue like pro-life and pro-choice advocates relentlessly fight for their beliefs on the merits of abortion and seemingly, pro-life resonated with Texas policymakers. Policymaking starts in the interest of the people and their concerns which is translated to the state and local government through public interests and elections. The issue will be discussed for the state’s policy agenda whether to be pursued further. In this case, pulling funding from Planned Parenthood, which was introduced by the people and given to the attention local and state officials, will now be debated to be made an official state policy, which was successful in the favor of pro-life advocates. But by defunding Planned Parenthood, many low-income women no longer have access to effective birth control or other forms of healthcare. Krugman, in his opinion, insists that political participation of the people is the only way to prevent unfavorable state and local candidates to hold public office and therefore, prevent unfavorable legislation to be passed within state government that may negatively impact the state and its
I am writing to implore you to change your stance on H.R. 3134- the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015. H.R. 3134, a bill passed in the House of Representatives with a vote of 241-187, drastically limits access to affordable healthcare options for American women and men. H.R. 3134: Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, introduced by Representative Diane Black [R] on July 21, 2015, seeks to defund Planned Parenthood based on “alleged” transactions involving fetal tissue (H.R.3134 - 114th Congress (2015-2016).
Five years ago, we learned in Texas what can happen when efforts to defund Planned Parenthood are carried out. The network of health-care providers falls apart and women lose access to essential preventive services. Planned Parenthood is not something that, at first, was affecting Texas government. When Texas decided to focus on the fact that they preform abortions, basically, just ignoring the fact the government started by providing reproductive health care and still do. That’s when Planned Parenthood was forced to fight back, which started to affect Texas government because of their involvement. Years ago, Texas voluntarily gave up $30 million a year in federal funding for women’s health programs, just so it could exclude Planned Parenthood from the roster of approved
In July of 2015 an undercover video was released to the public claiming Planned Parenthood engages in the selling of fetal tissues. These highly doctored videos released as apart of a series by a group called The Center for Medical Progress in attempt to uncover this “malpractice” within Planned Parenthood clinics. The selling fetal tissue for profit is an illegal activity in the United States therefore the topic alone became of interest to the public. Due to the graphic nature of these videos telling this horrific story, it gained much attention from the public and the media, leading Planned Parenthood to come under a great deal of fire. It became such an issue that a bill went to congress arguing for Planned Parenthood to be defunded by the government. The misinformation spread by this group, and others alike, is dangerous for the otherwise unknowing public and could have led to a very negative outcome that would affect the public more than it is aware.
The issue of abortion is notoriously controversial. Since the Supreme Court’s 1992 ruling in Casey v. Planned Parenthood, states have enacted different restrictions on the procedure. These restrictions vary from state to state. Nineteen states currently have laws prohibiting partial-birth abortion, and forty-one states strictly prohibit abortions except in cases of life-endangerment. One particularly incendiary area of abortion law is that of public funding. However, as of this year there are only seventeen states that cover abortion procedures through public funding. In this paper we will discuss federal abortion legislation, while describing the laws and political ideologies of the following states: Texas, California, New