Trump said Planned Parenthood can keep federal funds if it stops offering abortions, and it sounds reasonable to me. The first reason I support his idea is because I believe this is a violation of federal laws when a facility that offers abortion service takes government funds. The Hyde Amendment has blocked federal Medicaid funding for abortion services except when continuing the pregnancy will endanger the woman’s life, or when the pregnancy results from rape or incest. Even though the Planned Parenthood claims they use those federal funding on “non-abortion medical services”, but it just means that they use it on abortion service indirectly instead to me. There is always an unclear border between services because of the overlapping part such as new facility, new employee, tools, etc. that can share between non-abortion and abortion services. The Planned Parenthood also gets funding from the federal government to relieve their non-abortion service expense, thus they can use more their own money on abortion service. In my opinion, although they are not obviously violating the law, but they have used a loophole and this should be illegal.
My second point is that I believe the decision of abortion should be made based on more careful considerations.A convenient and easy access to abortion does not imply freedom of women; this right should be built under the conditions of not abusing someone else. Abortion does not only involve the woman but also a future life. I believe the convenient access will mask people’s awareness about how a serious issue it is because they don’t need to pay much on this decision making. If abortion service is an easy service, the young people would never learn how to take the responsibility to themselves, their lover, and their dying kid. The federal government shouldn’t play the role in helping encourage abortion. People should be more careful and take responsibility for their own body while practicing unsafe sexual behavior. It is their choice, and civilians shouldn’t have to pay for their carelessness. Of course, the exceptions listed in the amendment is an entirely different scenario, and I would like to exclude them from my discussion.
I chose the Blog "From an Immigrant's Perspective" because I wanted to understands the perspective of someone with a different background who most likely has a different point of view than I do. In the article," Federal government should defund Planned Parenthood which offers abortion service." he states that he endorses Donald Trump's idea to fund Planned Parenthood as long as it stops offering abortion services. His first argument for supporting Trump's idea is because he believes that Planned Parenthood is violating federal laws by using federal funds to provide abortion services. The problem with this argument is that abortions are not illegal in the U.S., therefore, the use of funds to provide abortion services are not violating any federal or local laws. Another issue with that argument is that the federal government does not fund Planned Parenthood. They are just like any other private organization whose vast majority of clients use Medicaid and Title X to pay for their services.
ReplyDeleteHis second argument is that he believes that women should not have easy access to abortion services because it encourage young people to be irresponsible and the other life should be taken into consideration. I understand his point of view but he nor I know the number of people that abuse the abortion services. For all, we know a very small number of women abuse it and it would be unfair to take it away from millions of women that need it. Just like anything else, a very few will always abuse it while the vast majority won't just like the laws. He points out that the life of the fetus should be taken into consideration which I agree with him however since the woman is the one carrying the baby and in my opinion, the baby is part of her body and no one should tell her what to do with her body.
I wanted to elaborate on the topic of Planned Parenthood that one of one of my classmates chose. While I found their argument to be valid, I think it neglected some key parts. For example, even though Planned Parenthood provides abortion services, that does not mean it is the only service they provide. Planned parenthood provides affordable services that range from, safe sex education to cervical cancer screening that people count on. There are thousands if not millions of people who benefit and rely on these services that are both male and female. This establishment makes it possible for people to get preventative services, and be proactive about their health before it becomes problematic. It seems like the primary focus of their argument was purely based on their stand on abortion, and there was not much factual data. While I think they are entitled to their opinion, I think that the option should be there for anyone that wants it and whoever doesn’t can opt from the services. Why take away everyone’s rights to healthcare because they disagree with a service they provide there? It is apparent to me that their tax money will be going to this establishment and that is worrisome to them, but it will never be used to pay for abortions. Also, defunding Planned Parenthood because they offer abortions seems counterintuitive. The point of Planned Parenthood is to prevent unwanted pregnancy. If abortion becomes illegal and birth control is defunded the amount of unwanted pregnancies will skyrocket. One of the arguments that my classmate made was that “young people will never learn to take responsibility.” Truth is that not only young people use these services; there are plenty of older people with established families and multiple children that either don’t want any more kids, or cannot afford to have any more children and they rely on these services. If pregnancy rates rise in people who cant afford to provide for their children, who will be paying for food stamps and welfare? The taxpayers will be. Now we have two problems, stressed families and higher taxes for everyone. Defunding Planned Parenthood has a farther-reaching impact than what we see on the surface. While I think my classmate’s opinion is valid I believe there are many gaps in their argument.
ReplyDeleteMy classmate wrote on his last blog a commentary titled “Federal Government should defund Planned Parenthood which offers abortion services” in which he states that he supports President Trumps statements of defunding Planned Parenthood. Another colleague of mine (Carlos M) also chose this blog to comment on and made the point that people are under the impression that abortions are illegal when they are in fact, completely legal. And yes, it is true that the federal funding they receive is a reimbursement from Medicaid for services that women receive at these clinics but abortions only account for 3% of their services rendered. As someone without medical insurance, I can personally tell you that Planned Parenthood is a lifesaver. They offer pap smears, pregnancy tests, and STD tests, among other things, at only a fraction of what a doctor’s office would charge you. I used Planned Parenthood last year to get a pregnancy test so I could have a referral for a doctor. My experience there was such a pleasant one. Once I took the test, they congratulated me and asked me what my plans were for the future. They never once asked me if I was considering an abortion, and when I told them that I was hoping to get pregnant, they were ecstatic and extremely supportive of my decision. So even though they offer abortions, they in no way suggest or even mention abortion unless it is something that you want to discuss.
ReplyDeleteHis second argument is that abortions are not something that should be convenient or easily accessible and young people should learn to take responsibility for their actions. Why does no one consider the cost of raising a child? What if the mother was on contraceptives but still managed to get pregnant? Maybe the responsible thing is not to subject a child to a life or poverty and hardship on account of an accident. I have a three-month-old baby girl at home and she takes up all my energy, but I stay up late and make sacrifices to care for her because I wanted this responsibility. Not to mention the physical burden that a woman’s body takes on to create another life. When abortion clinics are not made accessible to women, they often have to suffer unnecessarily due to negligence from abusive doctors. Before Planned Parenthood was made available, women would get abortions without anesthesia, in unsanitary conditions, and sometimes even suffered sexual abuse from the doctors preforming the procedure. So maybe put yourself in someone else’s shoes before prematurely judging someone’s unique situation and their decision.