Who could possibly believe that by denying women breast exams and cancer screenings that they would be working to improve life in the United States? As out of touch as it seems, extremists in Congress, including Alaska Congressman Don Young, are gearing up for another attack on women's health. After nearly shutting down the government last week in a failed assault on Planned Parenthood, they are back this week to push the same misguided proposal.
Today, the House and the Senate will hold up-or-down votes on a bill that would bar Planned Parenthood from providing breast exams, HIV tests, and other care through Medicaid or any federally funded health program. It's the same proposal that House Speaker John Boehner abandoned last Friday in the face of overwhelming opposition -- and it's just as bad an idea second time around.
Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana is peddling the bill as an effort to restrict federal funding for abortion, but it will do no such thing. As Rep. Pence knows, federal law has barred such funding for more than 30 years. The bill's real targets are family planning and women's health care, which make up more than 90 percent of the care women receive from Planned Parenthood. If this misguided measure became law, it would lock thousands of Alaska women out of the Planned Parenthood health centers they rely on for lifesaving cancer screenings, affordable birth control, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. And while endangering women's health, the bill would also increase unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion. One woman in five has turned to a Planned Parenthood health center for care at some point in her life. In 2009, 4,717 women and men were seen in Planned Parenthood Alaska health centers. For those receiving care at Planned Parenthood through federal programs like Medicaid and Title X each year, our health centers are a ready source of affordable, high-quality care that no one else provides.
Not surprisingly, the recent assault on Planned Parenthood, a 95-year-old organization, has provoked a backlash. Women and men across Alaska have come out to stand with Planned Parenthood -- and reasonable policymakers from both sides of the aisle have paid attention including -- Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich.
Stories from our patients have made a huge difference. A patient from Kodiak just wrote: "If it weren't for Planned Parenthood, my mother would be dead. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer shortly after the birth of her last child. If it were not for the free PAP test at a Planned Parenthood clinic, my mother would never have known or been treated. Four little girls have their mommy because of you. Thank you Planned Parenthood."
By continuing to pursue this senseless proposal to bar women from receiving critical health care, the House leadership is displaying not only moral bankruptcy but also political foolhardiness. A new poll released by CNN on April 11 shows that 65 percent of all Americans want Planned Parenthood to continue receiving government support. Other polls show that 68 percent of people under 35 oppose the assault on Planned Parenthood, as do 64 percent of Latinos and 60 percent of women. These are not voters that Congress can afford to ignore.
Standing with Planned Parenthood is a matter of common sense. Family planning saves taxpayers nearly $4 for every $1 invested. Locking Planned Parenthood out of federal programs would make those programs less efficient. The care that Planned Parenthood provides through federal programs costs significantly less than what other providers charge. If all of Planned Parenthood's 3 million patients had to get their care from other publicly funded providers, the total cost could increase by as much as $200 million a year.
Any public official who considers that a good deal should be in a different line of work. If our congressional delegation is serious about health, serious about good governance and interested in staying in office, it will do what's right and reject this misguided measure.
Clover Simon is director of Planned Parenthood VOTES! Alaska, based in Anchorage.
By CLOVER SIMON