Joan McCarter reports on the latest in the War on Women. You know? I’m kind of ignoring what’s going on in the House right now because those lunatics are never going to succeed in getting the Senate to agree to 99.9% of the bullshit they’re doing on this Continuing Resolution. But when you vote nearly unanimously to eliminate health benefits for women I get very pissed off.
If the resolution goes into law, the 95-year-old health care provider [Planned Parenthood] will lose funding from the federal government, all of which goes to family planning and reproductive services under Title X, and none of which goes to funding abortions.
It will also eliminate the entire Title X program, which was founded in 1970 and is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and preventive health services, particularly to low-income families, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs. Preventative health services include breast and cervical cancer screenings, HIV prevention education, pregnancy diagnosis and counseling.
In fiscal year 2010, Congress appropriated approximately $317 million for family planning activities supported under Title X, 90 percent of which was used for clinical family planning services, according to the OPA. In 2008, 4,500 community-based clinics (including health departments, university health centers, faith-based organizations, public and private nonprofit agencies, and tribal organizations) received grants from Title X that went to approximately 5 million people, the OPA said. In roughly 75 percent of U.S. counties, at least one clinic receives Title X funds.
You know who signed Title X into law? Richard Milhous Nixon, that’s who. It shouldn’t have to be said, but someone said it anyway:
More important than these numbers are the demographics of those who benefit from this funding. Planned Parenthood provides disproportionate amounts of sexual health care for those who are poor, young and belong to minority groups. For college students, Planned Parenthood is a resource that empowers those who would otherwise not be able to afford oral contraceptives and other sexual health care.
Moreover, the funding provided for Title X provides access to means of contraception other than abortion, which helps to keep women away from the emotional distress and high costs associated with these procedures.
Obviously abortion is not a contraceptive, but you get the point.
