Dear Future President,

Planned Parenthood has provided healthcare for a vast amount of women across the United States for 100 years now. Defunding this organization wouldn’t only limit women’s choices for reliable medical service, but also impact younger generations of patients (of all genders) to believe they don’t deserve the medical attention they need. I personally believe that our Future President should be aware of this concern and prevent the defunding and/or removal of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

I am passionate about this issue because I’ve witnessed biased assumptions, pressure, and expectations from doctors and other authorities about people’s health status and daily activities. Regardless of what a patient does to herself/himself and their personal background, I believe that medical professionals, health care providers, therapists, counselors, etc. should be open to offer their best support for their patients’ needs and not make unprofessional, pressuring assumptions about their lives. According to the official Planned Parenthood website, their mission is, “...to provide comprehensive reproductive and complementary healthcare…” and “...educational programs…” “...to advocate public policies which guarantee these rights…” and “...to promote research and the advancement in technology in reproductive health care.” To sum up, Planned Parenthood is about providing for their patients, regardless of their “income, marital status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or residence,” by giving proper education/debriefing, respecting their patient’s decisions and actions, and offering the best appropriate health service without any pressure or assumptions made. Without the health care option of Planned Parenthood, people could potentially make decisions about their health that they don’t want to do.

Others may argue that Planned Parenthood excessively offers service for abortions and birth control. However, according to Planned Parenthood’s annual report, only 3% of the organization’s total performed services were for abortions and abortion referrals, while their top performed service was for STI/STD testing and treatment. It is important to also be aware of the fact the Planned Parenthood offers multiple health services beyond abortions and contraceptives. It includes STI/STD testing and treatment, contraception, cancer screening and prevention, pregnancy tests and prenatal care, abortion services, family planning, adoption recommendations, and many more. It is true that there are other health care providers in the United States, but the Planned Parenthood Federation of America is an original and irreplaceable healthcare organization which won’t available for the people of America in need of reliable and affordable healthcare if Planned Parenthood is defunded or removed.

Sincerely,

Leila L.