The House of Representatives recently passed a bill to cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood. Predictably, this sparked outrage over the right of the House to decide the future of sexual health for countless Americans. Let’s explore the biggest reason this bill was even conceived.
In defense of the bill, Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla. said that “taxpayers should not be forced to financially support organizations whose behavior is at best unethical and possibly illegal.” Supporters of this bill claim that taxpayers should not have to pay for abortions, and therefore Planned Parenthood should be weaned off.
Here’s the kicker: while supporters quote that over 90 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services are abortions, in reality, only about 3 percent of what Planned Parenthood does involves abortions. The two biggest categories, STD/STI testing and treatment and contraception, take 35% each. Furthermore, none of the money given to Planned Parenthood is used for abortions. None.
So, either supporters of this bill are grossly misinformed or are using propaganda to push the lie that Planned Parenthood uses federal money to perform abortions and then “sells these baby parts.” In reality, by cutting federal funding to Planned Parenthood, the representatives are voting to defund things like mammograms and STD testing.
There’s one fact that takes precedence over all else, though: In the end, we don’t get to pick what taxes we want to pay. The federal budget isn’t a salad bar where all the options are laid out for your picking.
Twenty-five percent of the income taxes that Americans pay go toward defense. Nearly a quarter of that 25 percent goes toward the salaries and benefits. The rest goes toward weapons and R&D. At the same time, only 3.3 percent of taxes go toward education through the high school level, employment training for people with disabilities and college financial aid. By this count, educating the public and training them for a future is only a fraction as important as defense.
Let’s assume the average salary of an American is $50,000. In this bracket, you would have to pay 16.79 percent of your salary in income taxes, so $8,481.25. So, about $2,000 an average American earns goes to funding defense, while only about $280 goes towards public education.
But, if I wanted those figures to be reversed, it would be too bad. That’s the law.
I’ve never been one to insult politicians because, frankly, our points-of-view are different, and I respect that. But, seeing someone make outrageous claims and destroy a crucial source of medical options shows how blind one can get. All this information and more can be found by typing a few words into Google, and yet fear-mongering is the chosen tool for inciting change in this country. By painting Planned Parenthood as a secret hub of murdered baby parts, the GOP has done nothing but tarnish the reputation of the organization and prevent more people from ever learning the truth.
Kanakam is a member of the class of 2017.
