Family Planning - A Close Call in Congress

A close call for Planned Parenthood – as the organization survived a proposed amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill which would have prevented the health centers of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) from receiving any more funding under Title X of the Public Health Services Act. The attempt was spearheaded by Republican Mike Pence of Indiana, who tried to use his anti-abortion/anti-contraception viewpoints as justification for authoring this proposal. Either Rep. Pence just hasn’t done his homework, for if he had, he would know how Planned Parenthood and its affiliated clinics offer some of the most basic health services to low income individuals; or he is just is just acting on his own agenda to cut down the overall number of health-care clinics thus decreases access to birth control in general. Although Congress was smart enough to vote against Pence’s propaganda, this vote is another reminder about the conservative stance Congress has towards family planning issues since 45% voted for the funding cut.

It seems to me that the government’s campaign to prevent Americans from accessing birth control is somewhat backwards? According to the Guttmacher Institute, only 11% of sexually active women don't use birth control, and from this 11%, come 50% of our nation’s abortions. It’s almost as if our elected officials would rather focus on the immorality of abortions rather than doing anything proactive in preventing them in the first place. As RHrealitycheck.org points out, “pro-choice [politicians] should hold pro-life groups and leaders accountable for their failure to find solutions to the high rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion.”

In any case, PPFA Vice President for Public Policy and Advocacy Nancy Clack issued the following press statement on the vote: “Planned Parenthood applauds members of Congress for defeating this outrageous attack on family planning and the more than 2.4 million women and men who rely on Planned Parenthood for birth control each year. Birth control is basic health care and women and couples should have access to it. … On behalf of the women and families who rely on Planned Parenthood for birth control each year, we urge lawmakers to stop the political games and join with Planned Parenthood to put prevention first."

Stay informed! Here are some of the most common family planning methods available:

• All About Prescription Birth Control
• Over the Counter Contraceptives

Access to Birth Control Photo Courtesy of Keith Brofsky/Getty Images