Opinions

Stand with Planned Parenthood against ideological attacks

As a physician who has provided health care since 1988, it is important to me to address the recent assault against Planned Parenthood. Since the attacks began in July, Planned Parenthood has been the subject of seven state investigations, a federal investigation, a federal probe and a House Judiciary Committee Hearing. The federal investigation found no violations and just last week the chairman of the House Judicial Committee, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, admitted he uncovered no wrongdoing.

Planned Parenthood has been a trusted nonprofit provider of reproductive health care for nearly a century. One in five women has turned to Planned Parenthood for high-quality, non-judgmental care at some point in her life. Despite being portrayed as primarily providing abortions, 97 percent of the care provided by this organization is educational and preventive.

I am not just making this up; I have seen the statistics and observed that truth firsthand. Of the 59.4 million visits to the website in 2013, 81,069 were from Alaska. Twenty percent of Planned Parenthood clinics in Alaska provide affordable medical care in rural or medically underserved areas. I myself have provided some of that care -- breast cancer screenings, contraceptive guidance, STD screening and sexual education.

As a medical professional for nearly 30 years, I am appalled that they are willing to jeopardize the delivery of primary health care, particularly for those without resources. The claim that community health clinics can provide similar services is patently untrue. Community health clinics are currently struggling to find adequate numbers of providers themselves, and simply cannot take on thousands of extra patients if Planned Parenthood were to close.

Community health clinics provide a vastly different array of services to a completely different population, such as the elderly and small children. Defunding Planned Parenthood would mean that low-income women, men and teens would find it exceedingly difficult to find unbiased information, low-cost contraception and high quality preventive care and screening. By providing those services at minimal cost, regardless of insurance status, Planned Parenthood is significantly reducing unintended pregnancies and STD rates. That is a very good thing.

I know you have most likely heard about the videos. The truth is that Planned Parenthood has done nothing unethical or illegal. Using fetal cells for research is morally distinct from abortion. Two separate presidential commissions, appointed by Republican presidents, both concluded by supporting fetal tissue research. It is important to know that only after a woman has decided to terminate her pregnancy is she then asked if she would like to donate the tissue. Just recently Planned Parenthood announced in a letter to the National Institutes of Health that it will stop accepting reimbursements for supplying fetal tissue for medical research.

Since the attacks began, Planned Parenthood health centers have been targeted for arson in addition to the many calls to defund the organization and its $528 million in federal funding. The fees collected are legal and the policy change only shows the organization's commitment to science.

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Make no mistake, the mischaracterizations of a legal procedure which has benefited millions worldwide (polio vaccine, anyone?) are simply a calculated attempt to whip up an emotional reaction. It is clear that those behind these videos, and the politicians who have jumped on board, are trying to impose their own views of human sexuality on Alaskans.

If you believe, as I do, that all Alaskans benefit from the provision of evidence-based sexual education, from preventive health services, and from high-quality reproductive health care, join with me and the medical community and stand with Planned Parenthood.

Dr. Bonnie Swanson lives in Anchorage. She is a graduate of the University of West Virginia Medical School, completed her residency in family practice at Providence Hospital in Seattle, consulted for the Indian Health Service in the Puget Sound Service Unit, and worked as a private practitioner in Anchorage until 2001. She has volunteered with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and Planned Parenthood, and volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Anchorage foster children.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com

Bonnie Swanson

Dr. Bonnie Swanson is a graduate of the University of West Virginia Medical School, completed her residency in family practice at the University of Washington affiliated Family Practice Residency at Providence Hospital in Seattle, served as the medical consultant for the Indian Health Service in the Puget Sound Service Unit, and worked as a private practitioner in Anchorage until 2001. She has volunteered with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and Planned Parenthood. She currently lives in Anchorage and volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster children in Anchorage.

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