(Crystal Gwizdala/S&H editor)
By Patrick Sochacki
“There goes the 14th abortion today.”
Miles O’Brien, and other members of ONElife for Life, have been standing outside the Planned Parenthood health center in Flint nearly every day since April 19, 2019. The group is protesting the chemical and surgical abortions that are performed here from open at 9 a.m. until close at 5:30 p.m.
“We don’t have a problem with the other services offered at Planned Parenthood,” says O’Brien. “We want to see abortions ended in Genesee County. There is help.”
Planned Parenthood offers a full list of services at their locations besides abortions, including sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment, birth control, well-woman exams, cancer screening/prevention, hormone therapy, infertility services and general health care.
Title X is a federal government program that offers birth control and other health services to low-income women through facilities like Planned Parenthood. According to The New York Times, Planned Parenthood treats all of the Title X patients in Utah and 90% of the patients in Minnesota.
After the Trump administration banned referrals to doctors who perform abortions from any organization receiving Title X this year, Planned Parenthood decided they would no longer take Title X funding.
Conservative groups were overjoyed about Planned Parenthood’s choice to withdraw from the program. The President of March for Life, Jeanne Mancini, told The New York Times “it is a long awaited victory that will energize pro-life grass roots.”
The Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that groups refusing to comply with the rule “are blaming the government for their own actions.” The Department also added that refusing to comply with the rule is akin to abandoning patients who need help the most.
The lack of Title X funding has produced a $60 million deficit in Planned Parenthood’s budget, forcing consolidation and closing of clinics.
The Saginaw Planned Parenthood permanently closed on October 11 because of this funding cut. Mlive.com reports the Saginaw location saw 500 patients in 2018 while the Flint location, the next closest in this area, saw 2,450.
The “Planned Parenthood 2017-2018 Annual Report” shows the budget allocations for services offered by Planned Parenthood. The report details exactly where Planned Parenthood’s money goes: 48.7% STI testing and treatment, 27.1% contraception, 13.4% “other women’s health services,” 6.3% cancer screenings and prevention, 3.4% abortion services and 1.1% “other services.”
The new Title X rule that bans referrals for abortions does not ban the discussion of abortions and its potential outcomes. The rule does bar doctors from being totally open about options available to pregnant women, complicating the doctor-patient relationship.
Planned Parenthood still receives a portion of its funding from the federal government. According to its annual report, Planned Parenthood receives roughly $500 million from Medicaid. Medicaid is a joint state and federal insurance program that is backed almost entirely from federal funds.
If you need care or services provided by Planned Parenthood and cannot travel to the Flint location, there are alternatives in the Saginaw area.
The Saginaw County Department of Public Health offers birth control and women’s health exams, open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Women’s Center of Saginaw and Flint offers abortion services and is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays.