Zoey Freedman: Political outcry skews perception of Planned Parenthood services

Political grandstanding could cost a lot of people their access to affordable healthcare.

Recently, Planned Parenthood has come under attack for misconstrued information regarding its abortion services and the handling of fetal tissue for scientific research. The controversy reached a climax a few nights ago, when nearly every single Republican national candidate declared on live television that he or she would defund Planned Parenthood.

Yet contrary to popular belief, many of Planned Parenthood’s services have nothing to do with abortion. According to Planned Parenthood’s 2013-2014 Annual Report, 42 percent of services are sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, 34 percent of services are contraception, 11 percent are other women’s health services, 9 percent are cancer screening and prevention and 3 percent are abortion services.

Yet due to the recent events surrounding the videos released by The Center for Medical Progress, this 3 percent has overshadowed all of the other services that Planned Parenthood has to offer.

Communities across the United States shouldn’t lose access to the other health services offered by Planned Parenthood because there’s disagreement and political divide over a relatively small portion of its operations, and this disagreement definitely shouldn’t determine Planned Parenthood’s worth in the community or the amount of national funding it receives.

STI testing, cancer screenings, contraception and yearly health exams are vital to maintaining health, no matter what your political stance or religious affiliation is. These are all things needed as a human to maintain a healthy life. Planned Parenthood is receiving an overwhelming amount of criticism and attacks for providing abortions to women who choose to have them, while not being given credit for the other valuable services its clinics, and the organization as a whole, provide.

Planned Parenthood offers something that other medical clinics don’t. Not only does it offer important health services to people who may not be able to afford them, but also each health center takes into account the specific community it is serving and that community’s needs.

Arguably, Planned Parenthood’s name doesn’t make it clear that some of the organization’s main services, including health exams and cancer screenings, have nothing to do with planning parenthood. Some people may not even take the time to look beyond the organization’s name before jumping to conclusions on what these clinics across the country have to offer for a person’s health.

If you choose to criticize Planned Parenthood, you can’t ignore its role in public health, which goes beyond abortions and political campaigns.

Through my experience as an intern with Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, I realized how much time the organization spends researching and getting to know each community around each of the clinics throughout the city, and what can be done to best suit its needs. There’s a whole side of Planned Parenthood that almost no one takes the time to talk about, and it’s just as important as the clinical side. This side takes the time to make sure each clinic knows its community and makes sure that community knows about the affordable health resources at its fingertips.

Planned Parenthood uses various outreach programs, community assessments and other efforts to determine its audience for each individual clinic and then works to meet the needs of these community members. These assessments, educational campaigns and community outreach programs can be particularly important for minority communities that may not normally receive as much attention within the larger community, leaving them unaware of local services and networks.

Luckily, these vital services aren’t going anywhere yet. This week, the Republican-led Senate voted to continue funding the service. Still, with this much outward hostility, the battle appears far from over.

Unlike political campaigns, Planned Parenthood works all year, every year. The services Planned Parenthood provides are nondiscriminatory and are solely there for the well-being of the community, to ensure everyone, no matter what, has access to basic healthcare.

By blindly delegitimizing the other important work that Planned Parenthood does solely because of misconception and polarization over abortion services, everyone who benefits from these services, whether female, male, liberal or conservative, is threatened.

The campaign seasons come and go, but people’s needs do not. It needs to be realized that no matter what, health is always important, and for many, Planned Parenthood is the answer.