Women’s health is under attack in this country. The conservative majority in the House of Representatives is trying to force through bill H.R. 3, legislature that will cut Title X funding for Planned Parenthood and women’s health clinics under the guise of “no federal funding for abortion.” On March 17, an addition to this bill was revealed that could force the IRS to interrogate women about whether they chose to abort because of rape or incest in the cases that they used any money saved through tax breaks or tax credits to pay for said abortion – money that the GOP typically says belongs to the citizen, not the government. Meanwhile, in Georgia, legislature has been written that would mandate criminal investigation of miscarriages.

To those who subscribe to logic, these measures are absurd and regressive. Planned Parenthood uses no federal money for abortions. Rather, the GOP is seeking to infringe upon women’s autonomy and right to make her own reproductive decisions. This regime would like to take us back to a time when the women most in need of information, education and health services were unable to find a place that is affordable and reliable. Planned Parenthood is not in the business of convincing women to have abortions; rather, Planned Parenthood exists to educate young women and men about the ways to have sex safely and responsibly and provide preventative care, ranging from cancer screenings to STI testing.

My mother often says “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and nowhere is this more true than in a woman’s body. Breast and cervical cancer screenings save lives. For many people who do not subscribe to a binary gender or sexuality, Planned Parenthood is a safe, nonjudgmental place to go for vital information. For poor women, Planned Parenthood is the only healthcare they can afford when their jobs offer no benefits. It is also notable that Planned Parenthood offers testicular cancer screening for men.

Throughout this nation’s history, minorities, women and the impoverished have faced discrimination and lack of representation. Attempting to cut Title X funding is an attack on poor minority women above all – straight middle class women have access to insurance and doctors and always have. Even before the passing of Roe v. Wade, women of means could obtain safe abortions. This legislation has the potential to make unplanned pregnancy – and abortion – more common and more dangerous. The infant mortality rate in the United States is higher than that in Cuba with six out of every 1,000 live births resulting in the child dying, according to data provided by the CIA World Fact Book.

On March 19, I attended a rally for Planned Parenthood at the bandstand in Boston Common. Congressman Mike Capuano, Andrea Miller of NARAL, Tricia Quinn of the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy and others spoke to a crowd of around 200 Planned Parenthood supporters. There was also a small contingent of angry anti-choice protesters carrying signs and yelling “baby killer” at the speakers and crowd of supporters. These people do not care about women’s health. They ignore the fact that every federal dollar invested in family planning saves taxpayers four dollars down the line.

I am asking the Northeastern community to support Planned Parenthood and pro-choice activists by coming out on Saturday, March 26 for the second Walk for Choice at Government Center starting at 2 p.m. This legislation is fighting abortion, a medical procedure that is legal in this country. The decision to terminate a pregnancy lies with a woman and her doctor. Let’s not allow old, wealthy, white men to dictate what 52 percent of the population can and cannot do with their bodies.