David_42
Registered Democrat.
- Aug 9, 2015
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Rational people would want poor women to have access to free birth control pills, so they have both fewer babies and fewer abortions. But Republicans have this bizarre viewpoint that makes them care more about punishing poor people for being slutty or something.
The "defund Planned Parenthood" movement has a standard response to the question of where women would go if their local clinic closed: somewhere else.
RelatedThe Planned Parenthood controversy over aborted fetus body parts, explained
"There are 13,000 community-based organizations that provide health services to women, 13,000 in this country," Jeb Bush said at last week's Republican primary debate. "I don’t believe that Planned Parenthood should get a penny from the federal government."
Other Republicans make a similar claim. A spokesperson for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) argued that Planned Parenthood's funding could be diverted to "community health centers and other entities providing health services without abortions." And on paper, it sounds plausible that 13,000 clinics might be able to absorb Planned Parenthood's 2.7 million patients who get government help paying for birth control and other reproductive health services.
But a Vox review of academic research, recent Planned Parenthood closures in Texas, and interviews with half a dozen health policy experts suggests the opposite. Historically, researchers have found that when Planned Parenthood clinics close, other clinics do not step up to fill the gap. Meanwhile, when there are fewer reproductive health clinics available, women get less reproductive health care — from birth control to cancer screenings to STD testing and treatment. Unintended pregnancies would likely increase, too.
WHEN PLANNED PARENTHOOD CLINICS CLOSE, OTHER PROVIDERS DON'T STEP UP
So while many politicians like to assert that women can "go somewhere else," the consensus in the literature shows a different picture. Higher-income women will find alternatives. But a sizable minority of Planned Parenthood's patients, particularly low-income women, would lose access to medical services.
Planned Parenthood is a major part of America's reproductive health network
A patient has a Pap smear test at a Texas Planned Parenthood. (Melina Mara/the Washington Post via Getty Images)
Planned Parenthood plays a big role in women's reproductive health care in America for two reasons: It has hundreds of clinics, and those clinics tend to serve a higher number of patients than other health-care providers.
About one in six American counties — 491 counties in total — have a Planned Parenthood clinic. Taken together, they see about 2.6 million patients annually.
Planned Parenthood exists in many places where other family planning clinics don't: a new analysis from the Guttmacher Institute estimates that there are 103 counties in the United States where Planned Parenthood is the only provider of publicly funded contraceptives. In an additional 229 counties, Planned Parenthood serves the majority of women who are low-income and qualify for government help paying for birth control.