Everyone knows that the only thing rich, old white men love more than the early bird special at Golden Corral is deciding if women should be allowed to make their own health care decisions or not.
They’re back at their favorite hobby with a vengeance, this time threatening to shut down the federal government over a debate about whether or not federal money should help to fund Planned Parenthood.
Congress has until midnight on December 11th to pass a budget or the government shuts down. One small problem: they can’t agree on a budget until they decide whether or not they want to renew federal funding to Planned Parenthood. After months of debate and investigation, they recently passed a temporary spending measure (which includes funding for Planned Parenthood) that will extend the shutdown date from September 30th until the new December date, giving themselves plenty more time to yell/cry/drive the American people crazy talking about this.
WHAT’S THE ISSUE?
Recently, things have gotten even stickier than normal for the organization (which is saying a lot, considering it is a sexual health clinic): earlier this year, an anti-abortion group released five videos from a sting operation meant to provide evidence that Planned Parenthood is breaking the law by selling body parts of fetuses to medical companies for profit.
Think of congressional Republicans watching these videos as fifth-year fraternity boys at a freshman pregame: they’re trying to get some. Many would argue that pro-life conservatives in Congress have been looking for a reason to defund Planned Parenthood for years, and this video scandal has given them a reason to reignite the conversation about whether or not federal funding should go towards women’s health procedures.
The Center for Medical Progress paid actors to pretend to be buyers for a company that acquires fetal tissue for researchers (think “Punk’d” but with fewer D-list celebrities). In the highly edited video clips, the Planned Parenthood officials are shown talking about the types of body parts they supply and how doctors will slightly alter abortion procedures to deliver the type of organs that customers might want. The videos also show images of fetal remains in Planned Parenthood labs.
These videos have led to several congressional and state investigations of Planned Parenthood and a failed Senate vote to stop providing federal funds to the organization. So far none of the investigations have found evidence of illegal activity.
DID PLANNED PARENTHOOD BREAK THE LAW?
Planned Parenthood executives have responded to the accusations by saying that the videos have been “deceptively” edited to falsely portray what happened.
Assuming you’re not going to watch all twelve hours of footage because you have a fucking life, it’s important to point out that the executives repeatedly say during the unedited version that they do not intend to profit from the sales and that patients do not receive compensation for providing the fetal tissue. (Fetal tissue has been used in scientific research since the 1930s and is important for research because of the cells’ ability to rapidly divide and adapt to new environments.)
The organization also asserts that they only charge the amount necessary to cover the costs of preservation and transportation of the remains, which is technically allowed under federal law.
THE BACKSTORY
You probably thought Planned Parenthood was just the place where you went to get Plan B for your prom date or where you had to go with your best friend when she was convinced that she was the Virgin Mary reincarnate, but it’s actually kind of a big deal. The organization receives about $528.4 million dollars in federal money every year and provides health services for over 2.7 million people. If Planned Parenthood gets defunded, 390,000 women would lose access to health care, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
They also happen to be the largest provider of contraceptives and abortions in America, which has always made some of our more conservative homies a little hesitant about the organization receiving federal money.
Here’s the breakdown of they work they do, according to their annual report:
- STD Prevention and Treatment: 42%
- Birth Control and Contraceptives: 34%
- Other Women’s Health Services: 11%
- Cancer Screenings: 9%
- Abortions: 3%
- Other Services: 1%
Federal law prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortions, so those services are not paid for using government money. So even if Congress cuts federal funding to Planned Parenthood, it won’t reduce the number of abortions the organization preforms since they have to use private money for those anyway.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Speaker of the House and notorious Oompa Loompa John Boehner actually quit his job out of frustration that his Republican colleagues are trying to shut down the government over Planned Parenthood funding. President Obama has also said that he will veto any bill that cut funding for the organization, so things might be looking up for the organization.
Congress has until midnight on September 30th to pass a budget (with or without Planned Parenthood funding) or the government shuts down, so fingers crossed they pull a Kris and Caitlyn Jenner and can at least be cordial about it.
Featured photo courtesy of: ThinkProgress.org
