Poor Planned Parenthood

    Planned Parenthood seemed to be a hot topic on Ms. magazine's Feminist Wire Daily Newsbriefs last week. Texas officials revoked funding on Friday and pro-life protesters provoked violence in Oregon. Coincidentally, Texas happens to be a "red state" and Oregon a "blue state." With elections just around the corner, what impact will the outcome have on Planned Parenthood? Do these recent occurrences symbolize more than just a bad rep of this women's health institution?

    I think so.
    The topic of abortion has become more significant with each coming election. Obama has left Planned Parenthood alone, but Romney (unfortunately) refuses to let his beliefs be unheard. A typical conservative, he believes that life starts from conception. Early this year, his website said that he is against abortion in all cases because his personal religious beliefs consider each child God's blessing. He has since changed his stance on abortion, saying it is acceptable in the unfortunate cases of rape, incest or a threat to the mother's life. However, he still supports fellow Republican political figures Todd Akin, who believes that a woman's body can prevent pregnancy in instances of "legitimate rape;" Joe Walsh, who thinks there's no scientific evidence that pregnancy can threaten a mother's life; and Richard Mourdock, who instills that even an expecting rape victim's baby is "a gift from God."

    Slate magazine writer William Saletan tells his readers, 

"Banning abortion for rape victims is the new Republican mainstream."

    Texas Governor Rick Perry says, "Today's ruling affirms yet again that in Texas the Women's Health Program has no obligation to fund Planned Parenthood and other organizations that perform or promote abortion. In Texas we choose life, and we will immediately begin defunding all abortion affiliates to honor and uphold that choice." Ms. tells readers in this newsbrief that the state will not be able to make up for the 40% of low-income women that use these services.  Republicans are forgetting that these establishments do not only provide abortions, but some vital services for women such as cancer screenings. All this decision will do is put women's health at risk, especially because they are not willing to offer low-income women any more or special healthcare options.

From motleynews.net

    Oregon pro-life protesters shoved a girl exiting the building after she had kicked one of their signs. Later that day, she came back with her father. Angry, he punched the protester. In turn, the protester stabbed the man, Ted Clair, seven times. Last year in my anthropology class, I learned that anti-choice people have had an outstanding history  in violent protests, ranging from fistfights to  attacks involving arson.  If you are defending life, why would you do anything to damage another's or your own? Protesters need to understand that they should practice what they preach.

From boyculture.com

    And Republicans need to understand that without abortion, our economy will be even worse. Teenage pregnancy is on the rise, and many of these girls aren't even old enough to have a job yet. All these mothers who cannot support themselves, nevertheless a newborn child or twins, will make our economy worse. Even if these new mothers were to find jobs, chances are they'd have to drop out of school or not continue to college. So not only will they be poor on welfare but uneducated and unable to move up in the business world. Without abortions, women may have to die for their children, who may grow up poor without the second income or as an orphan if the father was never around. Then victims of rape or incest will have to revisit the burden of the most demeaning day of their lives whenever they lay their eyes on the children they never wanted to begin with. There are more orphans than couples willing to adopt, so that option is not always available. There's seven billion people in this world. According to National Geographic's 2010 video "7 Billion," about five people are born each second in the world. Taking away abortion in the states can probably increase that by one more person each day. Why take away the one option that regulates this? We cannot afford more people. There are already too many in our nation alone that are suffering in this era of economic turmoil. Why put more people in the streets instead of saving them from their suffering?

  

    Republicans need to realize that there is a reason why we have a separation of Church and state. Personal beliefs should not interfere with political ones, especially not if thousands of people will be at a loss because of it.

From realitychex.com

    And this is why I do not trust Romney. He changes his stances and his opinions way too often and drastically during his campaign.  Who's to say if he gets elected that he won't "change his mind" again and do things just because he can, because he has an advantage that Obama didn't -- there are more Republicans in the House of representatives than Democrats. There goes our freedom and what is truly best for those near or under the poverty line.

   
    Romney acts like he doesn't care what the people want. He only cares about what he and his friends want. He just wants to be the poster-boy of America. It doesn't matter who he hurts in the process. Taking away the funding for Planned Parenthood should be a sin. Pro-lifers should take a more realistic perspective. Here's to the old saying, "Don't fix it if it ain't broke." Abortion is not broken. Our government is.