Ezra Klein: Chart: What Planned Parenthood Actually Does

[flpoljunkie]

What Planned Parenthood Actually Does
by Ezra Klein

With Planned Parenthood being either the major obstacle to a budget deal or one of the major obstacles to a budget deal, it’s worth taking a minute explaining what they do — and what they don’t do.

As you can see in the chart atop this post, abortion services account for about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s activities. That’s less than cancer screening and prevention (16 percent), STD testing for both men and women (35 percent), and contraception (also 35 percent). About 80 percent of Planned Parenthood’s users are over age 20, and 75 percent have incomes below 150 percent of the poverty line. Planned Parenthood itself estimates it prevents more than 620,000 unintended pregnancies each year, and 220,000 abortions. It’s also worth noting that federal law already forbids Planned Parenthood from using the funds it receives from the government for abortions.

So though the fight over Planned Parenthood might be about abortion, Planned Parenthood itself isn’t about abortion. It’s primarily about contraception and reproductive health. And if Planned Parenthood loses funding, what will mainly happen is that cancer screenings and contraception and STD testing will become less available to poorer people. Folks with more money, of course, have many other ways to receive all these services, and tend to get them elsewhere already.

The fight also isn’t about cutting spending. The services Planned Parenthood provides save the federal government a lot of money. It’s somewhat cold to put it in these terms, but taxpayers end up bearing a lot of the expense for unintended pregnancies among people without the means to care for their children. The same goes for preventable cancers and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. You can find a lot more information about Planned Parenthood and its services here.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/what-planned-parenthood-actually-does/2011/04/06/AFhBPa2C_blog.html

[Raine1967]

1. I kinda went on a tear this afternoon on the twitter machine.

ThinkProgress got me going when they tweeted this:

@ThinkProgress
FACT: If GOP gets their way on Planned Parenthood, there will likely be MORE abortions bc there will be LESS affordable birth control

I present to you my beehive mind:

FACT: Abortions provided by Planned Parenthood are paid for with PRIVATE funds. NOT TAXPAYER DOLLARS.

FACT: They call it PLANNED Parenthood for a reason.

FACT: Planned Parenthood helps prevent the spread of STD's.

FACT: Planned Parenthood helps educate teens about responsible family planning.

FACT: Planned Parenthood treats teenagers with dignity.

FACT: Planned Parenthood provided me with Birth control pills in College. I had no insurance due to my PARENTS divorce.

FACT: Planned Parenthood effectively teaches about Abstinence. http://snurl.com/27ra1h

FACT: Women will die without access to Cancer Screenings that Planned Parenthood provides.

FACT: Planned Parenthood provides Men's sexual Health services.

FACT: the GOP is trying to use Planned Parenthood as a reason to SHUT the Government Down.

FACT: Planned Parenthood helps people have HEALTHY babies.

FACT: Planned Parenthood helps reduce Teen pregnancy.

FACT: Planned Parenthood Treats women with dignity.

FACT: Planned Parenthood helps to stop the spread of AIDS/HIV

FACT: Planned Parenthood provided Colin Cancer Screenings -- For MEN.

FACT: Planned Parenthood Diagnoses and treat UTI's.

FACT: Planned Parenthood provides services to those that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford them. WITHOUT JUDGEMENT.

FACT: Planned Parenthood provides Information for Men's sexual health. http://snurl.com/27raa0 It doesn't discriminate, unlike the GOP

FACT: Without Planned Parenthood, there will be more UN-Planned Parenthoods.

FACT: Planned Parenthood does not support discrimination.

FACT Planned Parenthood supports our Servicewomen's right to choose. http://snurl.com/27rabw

FACT: Planned Parenthood educates about personal responsibility.

FACT: Planned Parenthood provides PREVENTATIVE care, regardless of sex, age or economic status.

FACT: Planned Parenthood provides rape and sexual assault victims support

[flpoljunkie]

4. Great post! Thanks, Raine1967.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

2. almost all of the young adults in this rural community (males included) use PP for STD testing...and

females for Pap smeers, UTI's and birth controll pills. I haven't heard of one yet that used it for abortions.

[AtomicKitten]

3. Contrary to Jon Kyle (R-douchebag) claiming that 90% of services are abortions.

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/08/jon-kyl-90-percent-planned-parenthood-abortion/

[flpoljunkie]

5. What an asshat Kyl is! He will not be missed when he leaves the Senate in 2012.