A large number of Americans believe that Planned Parenthood is “Morally Acceptable,” and that women should receive prenatal care. On the other hand some, Americans believe that Planned Parenthood should no longer be funded.
Allowing for women to have control over their reproductive health is essential. It allows for women to wait to have children until they are financially and emotionally ready and finished with their education. According to The Conversation, “In the United States it costs $9000 to $25000 to have a child.”
Reproductive health for women does not just consist of abortions. It consists of women having access to family planning services, contraception, sex education and much more. This allows for women to control the size and when they decide to start a family.
This controversy falls in the hands of the Democrats and Republicans having very different views on the matter. The Democrats believe that funding should be provided for Planned Parenthood, while the Republicans believe the funding should be cut.
Democrats see birth control as a right and a part of the essential health care. At the same time many Democrats believe that access to family planning information is one step closer to gender equality. In turn they believe that pharmacists should provide emergency contraceptives to those in need.
However this viewpoint is not generally shared by many Republicans, Trump wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Trump does not have a concrete view on Planned Parenthood. Although, his actions towards women would prove him to be a misogynist, and not “cherishing women” like he has stated before.
In recent studies done by the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2015 alone “1.3 million millennial women gave birth for the first time, raising the number of U.S. women to become mothers in this generation to more than 16 million.”
“I think that women ages 16 through 24 should receive free birth control because 16 is around the age when women first become sexually active,” Lydia Nolan, a junior at Penn State University, said. “While around the age 22 is when some women think about getting married and starting a family.”
According to Guttmacher Institute, “Publicly funded family planning programs help women avoid about two million unintended pregnancies a year and saves the government billions of dollars in healthcare costs.”
Women who are given the necessary resources during or before their pregnancies allows for the family to have financial security. On the other side if there is reduced funding it can threaten the physical health and overall economic well-being of the women.
“I think that insurance should cover prenatal care and people who cannot afford it should get it at a discounted rate,” Lindsey Tennett, a Merck employee said.” If women cannot afford birth control then how can they make it through the pregnancy financially and support the child financially.”
However there is still a class divide in the access to contraceptives. Most people below or at the poverty line cannot afford to take birth control or other preventative measures. Guttmacher institute states, “The unintended pregnancy rate was five times that of women at the highest income level.”
Even though birth control is what most people think of when they think of prenatal care. Sex education is also very important for teenagers. Although the public has spent millions of dollars on abstinence programs, it fails to reduce birth rates and is full of miscommunication.
The Conversation said, “Teenagers who do not have knowledge about their sexual health are more likely to get pregnant and less likely to work, causing them to fall to the bottom of the economic ladder.”
Lynda Tennett, nurse coordinator for Pennridge School District, said, “Sex education is needed so that teenagers understand what a major life change having a baby creates, how they can help their unborn baby and themselves be healthy.”
However people believe that even seeking help from the law about contraceptives goes against their religious rights. People believe that women should be allowed to get their birth control from other places such as those publicly funded.
In light of the new election many women around the country are feeling that their rights as women will slowly diminish. This in turn will cause a major setback for women when it comes to protecting their bodies.
