— from Gay Wilmerding —
National Pink Out Day on September 29th coincides with Planned Parenthood’s twenty years of service in Friday Harbor.
September 5th, arson destroyed Pullman’s Planned Parenthood’s Health Center raising the question: if an individual disagrees with 3-4% of a program, would our town institutions be rubble?
Abortion is a very small percentage in the scope of services Mount Baker Planned Parenthood provides to Bellingham, Mt. Vernon and San Juan. Effective dissemination of information and education improve outcomes lowering abortion rates and cost of care.
For instance, Mount Baker Planned Parenthood offers breast and cervical screening to identify and treat cancer in early stages. Outreach to youth reduces sexually-transmitted infection and pregnancy. Language and financial guidance aid client navigation for insurance coverage and payment.
Critics and media too often black out good news. Expanding internet presence and telemedicine make reproductive health care more accessible for isolated individuals, for remote locations or where laws are restrictive. Defying Comstock postal regulation limiting family planning, founder Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) would smile as advocates distribute by drone in Poland, today.
One in five females of reproductive age, nationwide, use PP and males are the fastest growing cohort. Its motto “Care. No matter what” affirms the oldest meaning of “in the pink”, pinnacle.
Don pink on Tuesday and consider a tax-deductible gift. You can mail your donation to Mount Baker Planned Parenthood 1509 Cornwall Avenue, Bellingham, WA 98225. When you give a donation to Mount Baker, all funds stay local and are used in Bellingham, Mt. Vernon and Friday Harbor Health Centers. You can designate Friday Harbor, only, via Mount Baker Planned Parenthood donation. If you give to Planned Parenthood nationally, only a portion may reach Friday Harbor.
Celebrate good service and wish all happiness and health, in the pink.
It’s funny, I’m a BIG supporter of Planned Parenthood but danged if I can think of something pink that I own. But I’ll try! Anything to be supportive of women’s reproductive health issues (and men’s too, for that matter).
328,000 abortions per year. Over 500 million in federal subsidies (our taxes) to help pay for these abortions. I won’t be wearing pink or sending a donation.
Thank you for this. The Friday Harbor Planned Parenthood probably saved my life by detecting level 3 cervical cancer in situ, 15 years ago. The arson of Pullman Planned Parenthood is a hate crime and it hurt so many women and families – I am so glad no one was killed. It is a travesty to burn down a center that helps so many people in so many ways. I am so grateful for Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood does not receive “subsidies” from the federal government for anything. It receives zilch-zip-zero for abortions. It receives federal REIMBURSEMENT for other actual, approved medical services that it provides to mostly poor women, such as early detection, and that payment is usually at the ridiculously-low rates paid by Medicaid.
No one seems to realize that certain Congressmen have been successful since the federal health programs began in forbidding spending of ANY federal funds anywhere for not only abortion, but also regular family planning, which–ironically– prevents abortion.
PP receives $60 million in direct Title X funding from the federal government (subsidy). They spent over $622,000 on parties and over 22 million over the past 5 years on lobbying. They spend over $14000 per day on travel, much of it 1st class. Over 40 executives make over $200,000 annual salary. Does that sound like they need any of our tax dollars? No argument that they provide needed services to many people, but it’s a corrupt organization that shouldn’t be subsidized by the taxpayers.
Planned Parenthood participates in Title X (pronounced Title Ten). Title X is a federally funded quality family planning program, open to men and women, both insured and uninsured, regardless of their ability to pay. Service fees are determined on a sliding fee scale, based on a person’s income.
Title X allows PP to supplement birth control, breast and cervical cancer screening, and other reproductive health services.
This program does not pay for abortion care.
Title X health centers offer:
Reproductive life / family planning counseling
Gynecological examinations and basic lab tests
Breast and cervical cancer screenings
Contraceptive counseling and supplies/methods
Testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases
HIV testing and risk reduction counseling
Pregnancy testing
General health screenings for high blood pressure, diabetes and anemia
Community education and outreach
Spending any of this money on lobbying is illegal; spending it on “parties” or first-class travel wouldn’t make it past an audit either.