Kansas to Strip Planned Parenthood of Funding

Politicians in Kansas must take a page from Fox News and Friends and believe that women can easily get a pap smear and a breast exam from their local Walgreens clinic (which, by the way, still charges a fairly expensive price for a basic check-up if you don’t have insurance; I speak from experience.) Even though the near-closing of Congress over funding Planned Parenthood—an organization that primarily provides family planning, health, and cancer screening services for women all across the country—was narrowly avoided, Kansas is trying to finish what Senator Kyl so vehemently (and erroneously, at least when it came to his poor “I wasn’t being factual” comments) advocated for—the stripping of Planned Parenthood’s funding altogether.

The funding cut would be $2.9 million, accounting for nine clinics in Kansas that provide services for 9,000 people—of which 80% qualify for government aid. I, for one, would love to know where these women are supposed to go for their health services if these clinics are forced to close.

I’ll tell you one thing: getting health services at a regular doctor’s office costs an arm and a leg. When I had to have my routine pap smear done, the lab work itself cost me $228 without insurance. Had I known that, I wouldn’t have had the yearly exam done—even though breast cancer and other diseases run in my family. We just can’t afford that, and neither can most other women in the country.

And I’ll tell you something else: Planned Parenthood is a godsend to women. They run on a lot of free volunteer work, too; they definitely don’t get all the funding they need. I’ve volunteered with them a lot over the years and when you see people at the fair taking signatures or handing out literature, when you see people walking women into the clinic so they won’t be harmed or harassed by protesters (for any services, whether they’re the abortions—which account for about 3% of Planned Parenthood’s work—or the other 97% of the health screenings, contraception devices, and regular exams that the organization provides), when you see them going to the Capitol or marching or going door to door prior to an election—it’s all volunteers. From calling voters and donors to stuffing envelopes to preparing safe sex kits for schools, a huge portion of Planned Parenthood’s work is done by volunteer hands.

So when you’re taking away funding, you are taking away the money directly from the pockets of women—largely impoverished women—who rely on the services to stay healthy, to carefully plan their families, and to avoid and detect breast cancer. You’re also helping to create more impoverished children through the cycle when these women cannot get their hands on safe, effective health services.

Wait to go, Kansas. Way to show your support of women and families in general. No wonder Dorothy wanted to leave.

I wonder if the same move would be made if Uncle Henry could get pregnant or get cervical cancer?