It's not just about abortion, either. This is what the Republicans are fighting: basic healthcare for women, for their whole reproductive lifespan. From Planned Parenthood's annual report for 2008-09 [pdf].
Ninety percent of the health care provided by Planned Parenthood health centers is designed to:
- prevent unintended pregnancies through contraception
- reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections through testing and treatment
- prevent cervical and other cancers through lifesaving screenings.
For those who are pregnant, Planned Parenthood provides
- pregnancy testing
- prenatal care
- abortion
- referral for adoption (select affiliates)
- midlife care helping women manage the effects of menopause (select affiliates)
That's a pretty radical agenda, there, keeping women, including pregnant women and their unborn children, healthy. Too icky for Republicans since it all involves women parts.
By the way, the Republicans aren't just defunding Planned Parenthood, they're taking federal funding away from all reproductive health services—including family planning—for all women's clinics. And none of that funding—none—pays for abortion. Only about a quarter of federal funds for family planning and women's healthcare goes to Planned Parenthood, three-quarters goes to clinics in communities all over the country. And for many American women, those clinics are the only healthcare they have access to.
