“Do you have any idea what year it is?” Elizabeth Warren -a Democrat senator from MA- asked Congress the day Republicans put up another vote to defund Planned Parenthood. “Did you fall down, hit your head, and think you woke up in the 1950s or the 1890s? Should we call for a doctor? Because I simply cannot believe that in the year 2015, the United States Senate would be spending its time trying to defund women’s health care centers. You know, on second thought, maybe I shouldn’t be that surprised. The Republicans have had a plan for years to strip away women’s rights to make choices over our own bodies.”

Warren’s passionate plea to protect women’s rights in this country needs to be heard. It is evident that the Republicans in an attempt to decrease abortions, have no problem decreasing health care access for women as well. Although I personally may never need to use this program, it is ridiculous for me to imagine that this country is trying to defund a program that helps so many women. There is no legitimate reason to take funding away from this important program.

In recent events, the Republicans in Congress called to end the federal funding for Planned Parenthood, following the release of a few undercover videos released by an anti-abortion group, which have drawn negative attention to the organization. Although the group has admitted that Planned Parenthood did nothing illegal and the videos have been found by several sources to be false, the videos allegedly show Planned Parenthood medical officers talking about the sale of fetal tissues. This has sparked an outrage around the world. In fact, abortion only accounts for 3 percent of the services Planned Parenthood provides per year, according to the organization’s annual report.

Although most of the controversy is over their work with females, it is also important to realize that Planned Parenthood does not only provide care to women but they also supply basic medical assistance to men.   

More than 90% of the abortions performed are during the first trimester (first three months of pregnancy) and the patient can choose to donate the fetus to important medical research, such research to help find cures for H.I.V. and Parkinson’s disease. While I understand that many are opposed to abortion, it is legal in this country and do devalue an entire organization for one service it provides, diminishes the other important care patients receive. 

It’s 2015 and an organization that is mostly responsible for making sure men and women have access to basic medical care, including cancer screenings, checkups, and birth control, needs to be valued. 

“Planned Parenthood is the nation’s most trusted reproductive health care provider,” Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. With all the health care problems in our society, we should not be cutting funding to this resource, we should be expanding it.