Opposition to defunding Planned Parenthood is an encouraging sign

As Republicans in Congress attempt to defund the national Planned Parenthood organization by cutting Title X funding, the chorus of voices opposing the move has thankfully grown louder, with both conservative and liberal groups criticizing GOP leaders for their short-sighted actions.The controversy began when a Republican provision to cut all federal funding for Planned Parenthood passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last month, but did not become law, as the Senate rejected a spending bill that included the language. A number of newly elected Republican congressmen are now digging in their heels on the issue as they pander to social conservatives, but moderates have pointed out that eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood is both fiscally irresponsible and unconstitutional.The cuts make no financial sense because Planned Parenthood actually saves money in the communities it serves by educating young men and women about contraception and making the right choices to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Despite what some conservatives might want you to think, only 3 percent of the organization’s budget goes to abortions, and none of that money is federal money, as the infamous Hyde amendment is used each year to prohibit the use of federal funding for abortion.Perhaps most unsettling about this latest wave of Republican animosity toward Planned Parenthood is that it has been boosted by partisan attack videos made by abortion opponents to discredit the organization. The videos, like those made by the convicted criminal James O’Keefe, are highly biased and factually inaccurate. For members of Congress to use such flawed material to justify an immoral and fiscally unsound stance is unacceptable.A good sign in the debate came when Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine announced they were opposed to cuts to Planned Parenthood. Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman recently added her voice to the opposition. The fact is that Planned Parenthood programs work to stop unwanted pregnancies before they happen and to help wanted pregnancies come to full term in a healthy environment. With an annual budget of about $1 billion, the GOP’s plan to cut all federal funding would likely result in the closures of many locations across the country, an increase in unwanted pregnancies and a spike in abortions.