Anti-abortion activists are pushing back against assertions that basic health services for women will be curtailed by cutting off federal funding to Planned Parenthood, saying there are "thousands of alternatives" for comprehensive healthcare.
The call to defund the organization has intensified in the wake of
hidden-camera videos documenting officials discussing the distribution of tissue and body parts from aborted fetuses.
But Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey writes in an op-ed piece for the
Scranton Times-Tribune that slashing funds will curtail services including cancer screening as well as primary care and family planning.
Roger Severino of the Heritage Foundation disagrees, the
Daily Signal reports.
"There are literally thousands of alternatives to Planned Parenthood that provide more comprehensive health services to women but haven’t been tainted by the gruesome acts exposed by these videos," Severino tells the Daily Signal.
"Taxpayer funds should be directed to them instead."
According to the Daily Signal, there are 13,540 clinics providing comprehensive health care for women, compared with 665 Planned Parenthood locations.
And, the Daily Signal reports, the anti-abortion group Students for Life of America has documented nine community health centers in Lancaster, Pa., alone, compared with one Planned Parenthood clinic there.
"Community Health Centers and other federally funded health clinics do everything that Planned Parenthood does except abortions," Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, told the Daily Signal.
"There will be no apocalypse if Planned Parenthood is defunded and their facilities start to close. In fact, while Planned Parenthood sounds the alarm that women won’t have access to life-saving treatment, their cancer screenings and prevention programs are in a free fall. From 2009-2013, cancer screenings dropped over 50 percent as did prenatal services."
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