Abortion is health care. It is a constitutionally guaranteed medical procedure that 1 in 3 women will obtain in her lifetime. And along with contraception, breast and cervical cancer screenings and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, abortion is one of the many health care services that Planned Parenthood provides to its patients.
But on Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the Women’s Public Health and Safety Act, H.R. 3495, which would allow states to withhold Medicaid funds from clinics that provide abortions. This followed a measure passed two weeks ago in the House, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, H.R. 3134, which would defund Planned Parenthood for one year. When politicians – most of whom are not health care providers – decide to insert ideology and politics into health care decisions, patients lose.
The above excerpt was originally published in U.S. News & World Report.
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