Planned Parenthood recently decided to pull out of Title X, a federal program that allocates funds for reproductive health care and currently aids more than four million low-income citizens.

This came after the Trump administration implemented a new gag rule outlawing clinic doctors from explicitly referring women to an abortion provider. Some states, including Washington, Maine, and California, are legally challenging this rule and have promised to try to bridge funding gaps.

These changes mean some lower-income populations around America will be disproportionately affected, which is immoral and unjust.

 

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Debora McDell-Hernandez, the senior director of public and community affairs at Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York in Syracuse, believes there’s a correlation between income and use of clinic services.

“People of limited resources often come to us because we charge people on a sliding scale,” McDell-Hernandez said. “We take your annual income into account when deciding the price for our services.”

The effects of Planned Parenthood’s decision ultimately vary by state, with some being hit harder than others based on their state’s legislation. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo has ensured back-up funding for family planning service providers in case the state were to see a loss of Title X funds. The plan for release and distribution of that money to clinics is still unclear.

McDell-Hernandez said while the Syracuse location is still up and running as usual, the future is unclear as the staff awaits updates.

This uncertainty in funding could cause several negative repercussions in places like Syracuse, which was named one of the ten poorest places in America in 2018.

Due to its sliding scale model, many Planned Parenthood locations have been able to provide some cost-reduced or free services. This loss of funding may gradually force clinics to increase procedure prices in order to keep their staff paid, resources stocked and door open.

Rising costs could ultimately make Planned Parenthood’s service financially unattainable for low-income and uninsured patients. As a result, patients could unfairly face limited accessibility to several types of reproductive health care, ranging from family planning and abortions to STD testing and contraceptives.

Renee Mestad, an obstetrics and gynecology professor at SUNY Upstate Medical University, said that restricted access could have an impact on public health as well.

“If people don’t have an avenue to receive care, you will see an increase in infections and cancers that places like Planned Parenthood provide diagnosis and treatment for,” Mestad said.

Another potential result of individuals not having easy connections to reproductive health services is an increase in unsafe, unauthorized medical procedures such as back-alley abortions. While one possible solution to these issues would be to travel to a state such as New York to receive care, those with low income may be unable to afford it.

For many Americans in states that have had their funding slashed, these repercussions are far from hypothetical. The myriad of procedures and tests that Planned Parenthood offers to individuals should always remain in reach for those that need it.

In order for clinic locations around America to maintain their operations and stay open, federal funding in all states should be restored. The importance of Planned Parenthood in low-income areas cannot be overlooked. Patients deserve obstacle-free access to care.

Lauren Spiezia is a sophomore journalism and political science major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at lespiezi@syr.edu. She can be followed on Twitter @lauren_spiezia.

 

Published on September 9, 2019 at 11:28 pm