Can Pro-Choice Senators Save Planned Parenthood?

Last Friday's decision by the House GOP to defund Planned Parenthood wasn't surprising, but it was a major blow to women's health advocates across the country. Now, hopes are pegged on the Senate to stand up against this and other controversial bills, collectively known as the "war on women."

It's generally believed that the Democratic-majority Senate will shoot down three pieces of legislation moving through the house. They include H.R. 3, the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," which gained notoriety for its attempts to redefine rape; H.R. 358, the "Protect Life Act," which protects doctors and health care providers that refuse to perform abortions, even if it means saving a woman's life; and the proposal to eliminate funds for Title X family planning programs, including the Pence Amendment, which specifically defunded Planned Parenthood.

But, according to a petition by CREDO Action, a victory in the Senate isn't so clear-cut. The anti-choice Senators outnumber pro-choice Senators by 46-40, and 41 votes are needed to sustain a filibuster of the bills.

The proposed cuts go far beyond the abortion debate. Planned Parenthood does much more than just provide abortions (and federal funds have never gone to pay for abortions); it provides STD screening and treatment, breast and cervical cancer screenings, patient education, and contraception. Over 90 percent of the care Planned Parenthood offers is preventative.

The GOP's attempts to defund family planning services highlights the sheer hypocrisy of their abortion argument. They say they want to end abortions, but Planned Parenthood and other family planning clinics are responsible for preventing thousands of unwanted pregnancies every year, drastically reducing the number of abortions.

And without prenatal care, the number of high-risk pregnancies -- those that lead to complications, including medically-necessary abortions -- can increase. Yet the GOP is doing everything in their power to ensure that women, especially low-income women, don't have access to prenatal care or other services that ensure a healthy baby. This includes cutting funds for community health centers, prevention programs and defunding health care reform, what Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, recently called the "strongest women's health law since Medicare."

Women have a harder time getting health insurance on the open market, and for pregnant women, it's near impossible to obtain coverage. So how can the GOP claim to want to protect life, but deny the very services that ensure healthy lives? After all, for 60 percent of the women that visit family planning centers like Planned Parenthood, it is their main source of health care.

Senators will be under major pressure to pass the budget to keep the government funded through this year without fighting over specific provisions, like that to defund Planned Parenthood. But it's critical that the pro-choice Senators know how important it is to stand up against any bill that introduces new restrictions on preventative care and reproductive health. Join in the movement and urge your support.

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