For some folks this is a touchy subject so for starters I have never had an abortion and since government money does not go toward Planned Parenthood abortions I am not going to talk about that here, so don't go there!
When I first got out of college with my bachelors degree I did not have much job experience so I joined the Washington Conservation Corps, which at the time did not have health care options as it does now. I was kicked off my parents health care plan a week out of school (thanks for fixing that Obamacare). I was working 10 hour days of manual labor in heat and cold with not always ideal bathroom conditions. Due to our difficult working conditions and not drinking enough water I had developed a bladder and kidney infection that put me in the hospital. Luckily since I was broke the hospital wrote off my ER visit and so my finances were still somewhat safe from annihilation. My health was my meal ticket and rent! One day on a bathroom break passing through a grocery store restroom on the way to a job site I saw a pamphlet for free annual woman exams. I shoved it in my bag.
I was working for minimum wage, living alone with rent and eating lots of pasta, so I should total qualify. I took a chance on my next day off and walked into the Bellingham Planned Parenthood. I completed my paperwork and I qualified for one year of free women's health coverage, which included an annual exam, lab work and birthcontrol. I had my first exam and the doctors and nurses were friendly and made me very comfortable. They answered any questions I had with no judgement.
A few weeks later my lab work came back with abnormal results. I asked the doctor what that meant and she answered that it could mean anything from nothing to cancer. I panicked, of course! They calmly informed me that they were going to run a second test before jumping to conclusions. The results of the second lab work came back a week later normal with evidence of a yeast infection, which was no surprise after the antibiotics I had taken from my last hospital visit. Much relieved they gave me information to best treat the yeast infection and I was back to life as normal.
I am asking that if you don't like certain things about Planned Parenthood ask them to change. Better yet get involved and learn how they really operate, but do not defund them! Their free annual exams catch treatable diseases and cancers before they become deadly. By defunding them you are endangering women's lives! Please take a moment and look at the larger picture of what they really do for women and where government funding really goes.
