The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

Planned Parenthood debate ends today

PHOTO COURTESY/CREATIVECOMMONS/WENEWS

By Erica Thompson, News Staff

Although the federal government dodged a nationwide shutdown last Friday, the dispute over Planned Parenthood’s funding is not over. Government funding of the organization will be voted on today in Congress.

Plenty of women are feeling the wrath of this controversial debate in Boston, said Martha Davis, a Northeastern law professor specializing in poverty, women’s and human rights.

Though protesting of Planned Parenthood isn’t anything new, there seems to be an increase in the amount of protests and protesters since the budget debate, Davis said.

“I’ve been working down by Planned Parenthood on Commonwealth [Avenue] for a while now and just within the past two months, the crowds of people outside are definitely growing and their signs occasionally have political statements on them,” said Alison Bubly, a middler marketing major.

The notion that Planned Parenthood may no longer provide the services that the public needs, or exist at all, she said, provokes frightening and formidable feelings for a lot of women.

“This could potentially be extremely dangerous,” Davis said. “It’s also unfortunate that Planned Parenthood just gets targeted as an abortion clinic and people tend to neglect all of the other crucial health services they offer.”

The funding for Planned Parenthood falls under Title X, a public law that provides federal grant money to organizations which offer family planning services and related health issues, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services’ website. The site also states that approximately five million men and women use these clinics, and funding for Title X cannot be used directly for abortions.

“I don’t know if the administration will categorically reject any cuts or not, but hypothetical cuts would decrease any woman’s ability to seek out health care, including preventive care like breast cancer screenings,” said Nick Beek, a junior political science major. “It’s also not just women that can go there. Anyone can get cancer screenings, STD testings and more.”

Pro-life groups beg to differ. Northeastern’s Right to Life group, a non-religious organization that upholds the theory of life at conception, supports these budget cuts and does not agree with Planned Parenthood as an institution.

“In February, these videos about Planned Parenthood came out that just prove how they encourage and foster prostitution and sex trafficking,” said Rachel Regonini, president of NU Right to Life. “And in terms of birth control, Planned Parenthood is a business. The condoms they provide are the worst on the market and they’re bound to fail. But that’s the plan — if the condoms fail, women will have a reason to have an abortion, which is how they make their money.”

As for the other services Planned Parenthood offers, like gynecologist appointments and cervical cancer screenings, Regonini, a middler nursing major, suggested that women consult their regular physician rather than a clinic.

“I wasn’t even going in to Planned Parenthood and I still got harassed,” Bubly said. “They kept trying to hand me these pamphlets with crosses on them, and some girl had a sign hanging over her saying ‘Abortion exploits women.’ She also showed me a picture of a seven-week-old fetus, which doesn’t look human-like at all. Every person that walked by, they’d go ‘Think about God!’”

Bubly said the protests consist of roughly 20 to 25 people. She said protesters can be seen every morning, but are more prevalent on Saturdays.

“These protester’s goals are to undermine health care for women, and they want to do that in a way that’s both alarming and provocative,” Davis said. “On the contrary, they’re utilizing their First Amendment right, in the same way that the woman entering Planned Parenthood is utilizing her right to government-funded health care, and the choice to have an abortion.”

Davis also mentioned a law that protects those entering Planned Parenthood from angry protesters.

“The people protesting, although they’re exercising their right, can only stand within a restricted area to voice their opinion, and Planned Parenthood will have an employee come out and escort people inside.”

Stephanie Maslin of the external affairs department at the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts did not respond to requests for comment.

President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have agreed to let the Senate have an up or down vote on Title X as part of the budget agreement. The House is scheduled to vote today on the budget pact, which would fund the government through Sept. 30, the end of this fiscal year.

If the budget passes, Title X will remain in the budget and continue to receive funding from the government. If the budget does not pass, the government must come to an alternative agreement, which could potentially cut the funding for Title X, according to a report on NPR’s All Things Considered.

A survey from Democratic firm Public Policy Polling reports that 27 percent of Massachusetts’s voter support pulling funding from Planned Parenthood.

“I’m proud to live in Massachusetts because of the support for individual rights,” Davis said. “People here have true appreciation for individuality, and I think Scott Brown’s decisions will reflect the Commonwealth’s best interest.”

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