Vote to defund is rooted in the facts

Vote to defund is rooted in the facts

By TYLER HERRMANN letter to editor

Amy Whalen, chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Women’s Caucus, seems to believe the only possible foundation for a vote to defund Planned Parenthood is one of misinformation, and I would like to offer a rebuttal (“Vote to defund Planned Parenthood based on bad info” Nov. 16).

The impetus for Whalen’s opinion piece was a letter from Ohio Sen. William Seitz, R-Green Township, in response to a constituent’s concerns regarding the Senate’s October vote to defund Planned Parenthood. In his letter, Seitz tells the constituent “all the money will be redirected to other, non-baby killing, non-baby-part selling and agencies.” Whalen refers to this response as “unprofessional,” and I must disagree. Quite simply, to those of us who do not believe the unborn are merely dehumanized fetuses, Planned Parenthood is in the business of killing babies. With regard to selling baby parts, Planned Parenthood’s conduct remains the subject of ongoing investigations, which, until resolved, should prevent anyone from definitively claiming Planned Parenthood is free of any wrongdoing.

I certainly agree that the providing of abortion services is a divisive issue, but I would argue Planned Parenthood’s provision of those services is a necessary part of this discussion. The left regularly defends government funding of Planned Parenthood by telling us that public funds are not used for abortion services. The fact of the matter is that, even if no public money is used to pay for any abortion- related services, funding Planned Parenthood’s other functions frees up the organization’s non-government funding to be used for just that purpose.

What I fail to understand is the idea that the loss of public funds will result in the closure of Planned Parenthood facilities, because the group does not appear to be hurting for cash. A congressional hearing revealed that Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood’s national president, draws a salary of nearly $600,000 – well above the median salary for other nonprofit presidents. Additionally, Stephanie K. Knight, president of Planned Parenthood in Ohio, pulls in over $220,000 annually, and the organization has spent nearly $40 million on travel, parties with celebrity guests and lavish Manhattan offices.

As for Whalen’s proposition that other health centers in the state are not capable of absorbing patients displaced by a vote to defund, Democrats for Life has provided some useful infographics that make it clear that, taken as a whole, community health centers already overshadow Planned Parenthood in terms of health services provided to women. Cecile Richards even acknowledged that the number of abortions provided by Planned Parenthood has steadily been increasing since 2006 while cancer screening and prevention services have been on the decline (including the revelation that Planned Parenthood does not, in fact, provide mammograms).

While it is true that schools are included on the list, they are schools that have “reported/been identified as providing girls’ and women’s health care services at ‘school-based health centers’ on location.” While they may not be an option for every woman, they are certainly “a very real option for girls and young women in the area who need health care.”

Given the above information, it becomes clear that a vote to defund Planned Parenthood does not necessarily equate to a vote that is uninformed or based on misinformation. I commend Seitz and the rest of the Ohio General Assembly for their resolve and for standing on principle regarding this issue.