A bill that would decrease state funding to Planned Parenthood is awaiting approval from the House Committee on Family and Children Services.
The bill, supported by the pro-life organization Right to Life, is considered by many as an effort to discourage women from seeking abortion-related services.
But officials from the Planned Parenthood Mid-Michigan Alliance say the bill is unnecessary and will weaken many of its programs. The organization provides abortion services, prenatal care, sexually transmitted disease testing and other medical services to low-income women at seven locations throughout the state.
State Rep. Mike Murphy, D-Lansing, said he voted against the bill.
“It essentially eliminates health care services for approximately 90,000 women - particularly low-income women and women of color,” said Murphy, vice chairperson of the Committee on Family and Children Services. “It’s a bad piece of legislation. It’s intent is to deny vital and essential health care services to women.”
Margy Long, director of development for the Planned Parenthood Mid-Michigan Alliance, said if the bill passes, it will decrease funding for the family planning program and make adequate health care less accessible.
And she said the bill will not help pro-life organizations further their goals.
“It makes me very angry to think an organization like Right to Life and their supporting legislature would say that what they want to do is get rid of abortion and then turn around and get rid of a program that provides a way for women to prevent unintended pregnancy,” she said.
Ed Rivet, legislative director for Right to Life, supports the bill.
“We feel that the family planning programs the state offers can be adequately run by organizations that also don’t run, perform or advocate abortion,” he said. “We are just looking for alternative providers to have first dibs on the money.”
But Joy Yearout, co-chairwoman for MSU’s Students for Life group, said she doesn’t think the bill will significantly decrease funding for Planned Parenthood.
“If Planned Parenthood separates their abortion facilities from family planning programs they can get the same amount of money. It just changes who gets it and where,” the political theory and constitutional democracy sophomore said. “I don’t want tax dollars going to that. Abortion is not family planning.”
Dennis Martell, a health educator at Olin Health Center, said Planned Parenthood’s main purpose is to educate people about human sexuality - not provide abortion services.
“There are limited choices in the state when it comes to people getting information about sexuality or options when they are pregnant,” he said. “We can’t keep limiting the choices people have. It’s not about pro-life or pro-choice, it’s about educating.”
