Why Planned Parenthood should not be defunded

Population Increase and Planned Parenthood

Most nations have been impacted by population increase. Population increase has been promoted in recent years, but most governments realized that the rise was enormous and that it needed to be controlled. Planned Parenthood was mentioned as one of the possible solutions to the expanding population (Parenthood 7). Planned Parenthood is a very prevalent strategy that is utilized all over the world to regulate population. It entails the use of drugs to both prevent and terminate undesired pregnancies. There are claims, however, for the need to defund Planned Parenthood due to the many implications that it has on the lives of those using them and those that surround them. The need to defund the program is due to the much of the taxpayers’ finances that are deposited in the project. There are concerns that, in America for example, the government spent over $528 to finance the project in one year (Ziegler 701). This is quite a huge amount following that it is just a preventive measure to cases that could however be avoided.

Abortion Cases and Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood is also a major causal agent for most of the abortion cases. There are some instances that are prescribed abortion such as rapes or difficulties in giving birth. A better percentage of those that use Planned Parenthood as an abortion technique do it as a result of their ignorance.

Government Financing and the Medical Sector

Planned Parenthood should not be defunded however since it is a sector that really needs government finances. The finances channeled to Planned Parenthood are in most cases spread down to the various facilities through Medicaid which also caters for other services such as cancer screenings (Frost&Kinsey 208). Cutting down the finances for Planned Parenthood would therefore mean that services such as cancer screenings will not receive any finances from the government and this therefore destabilizes the medical sector.

The Resistance to Power Theory

The theory that is going to be used for this paper to explain the topic will be the resistance to power theory. The theory focuses on the number of ways that authority might be resisted. The theory insists that resistance and power are co-extensive (McNay 31). This means that where there is the existence of power, there is a possibility of having resistance. The possibility of resistance is always there despite how oppressive the power system is. It is often that power is resisted following the different desires that human beings have (Allen 27). For effective resistance, there has to be substantial reasons for the same. The reasons, however, are not a guarantee that the authority will attend to the desires of the resistors.

Resistance to Defunding Planned Parenthood

Power in this case is the government that is planning to defund Planned Parenthood. This paper is however going to pose some resistance to power by conquering with the government’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood. This will be executed by giving elaborate reasons for the resistance of the government’s decision.

Effects of Defunding Planned Parenthood

Defunding the project of Planned Parenthood would adversely affect huge populations of low-income earners. Research data shows that more than seventy-five percent of the beneficiaries of the Planned Parenthood project have their incomes below the one hundred and fifty percent level of federal poverty. A further sixty percent access Planned Parenthood at a very low cost or in most instances free of charge through the Medicaid program. The substitute for Medicaid is another federal program that dwells on family planning and has its basis on smaller Planned Parenthood’s funding proportion (Frost&Kinsey 71). If the government decides to defund the project, most of these clinics would be forced to shut down and a majority of the patients who are in dire need of the services will be forced to stay without for lack of adequate finances.

Cutting off the funding of Planned Parenthood would also have adverse effects on the population in general. Research shows that the regions that are infested with poverty are the same regions with the highest populations. The huge populations are attributed to inadequate education and lack of access to Planned Parenthood techniques and products. The rates changed after the introduction of contraceptives to the areas affected and adequate education was also induced to the people. Once the project is defunded, it would mean that the regions that are highly infested with poor people will once again have their populations shooting up due to lack of finances to buy the contraceptives (Parenthood 26). This will, in turn, affect the whole country as the government will now have to increase their allocations to different sections due to increased populations.

Another effect that would follow the defunding of Planned Parenthood would be the inadequate supply even to those who can afford the products. This will be caused by lack of government’s intervention by maybe importing more of the products hence causing a shortage in the sector (Ziegler 5). The shortage would, in turn, lead to poor speculation where people will stock out the stores for personal inventory thus causing shortages.

Strategies of Resistance

Resisting the move by the government would call for strategies such as the distribution of articles such as this one that create awareness of the negative effects that would be accrued by the citizens once the authority implements the idea. Organizations could also be used in the attempt to manipulate the government not to implement the idea. There can also be mass actions such as boycotting or other peaceful demonstrations all with the aim of passing their message to the government.

Insights from the Resistance to Power Theory

The theory of the resistance of power is common to most individuals in voicing out their issues (Ahonen 272). There are a number of insights that I have gained while taking a deeper look into the theory and how it can be applied in the resistance of the defunding of Planned Parenthood. First, resistance to power is a common thing that a greater majority practice but fail to notice. Criticizing the government also falls under the resistance of power and that is one thing that almost every individual does. This theory can actually be said to be unavoidable since we all find ourselves practicing it. In our case, for example, our idea is to discourage the defunding of Planned Parenthood and through this, we find ourselves resisting the government.

The second insight is that the theory of resistance of power is a way of airing our problems to the relevant authorities. Resisting arises from oppression and once people resist, they address their issues to the authority with the hope that the authorities will settle their issues. The resistors often carry with them blackmails that are to act as bargaining agreements for their issues to be settled. It is through resistance (Lilja 107) of what the government wants to implement that this article is able to air issues such as the effects that could be brought about if the project on Planned Parenthood was defunded.

Resistance and Traditional Rhetoric Approaches

For the case of traditional rhetoric approaches, there would not be such insights since the approaches do not seek to resist the authority or those in power but rather they support them by and whatever they seek to do. When there is no resistance to those in power, it becomes very difficult to air the problems that one has as there is the fear of breaking the trusts that are there between those in power and the subjects (Ahonen 54). This, therefore, gives those in power the authority to do anything they please without having anybody to question them on what they feel like doing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, resistance to authority is a good choice in most cases. It gives the subjects a chance to express themselves and, in turn, ask for what they think is right and what should be channeled to them. It is often the case that in the presence of power, there is also resistance. This resistance is in most cases referred to as democracy, as every individual is given the right to decide and defend what they want as long as it is in the constitution.

Works cited

McNay, Lois. Foucault and feminism: Power, gender and the self. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.

Allen, Amy. The politics of our selves: Power, autonomy, and gender in contemporary critical theory. Columbia University Press, 2013.

Ahonen, Pasi, et al. “Hidden contexts and invisible power relations: A Foucauldian reading of diversity research.” Human Relations 67.3 (2014): 263-286.

Lilja, Mona, and Stellan Vinthagen. “Sovereign power, disciplinary power and biopower: resisting what power with what resistance?.” Journal of Political Power 7.1 (2014): 107-126.

Parenthood, Planned. “PlannedParenthood.” State Medicaid Programs and Pregnancy Prevention (2014).

Frost, J., and Kinsey Hasstedt. “Quantifying Planned Parenthood’s critical role in meeting the need for publicly supported contraceptive care.” Health Affairs Blog (2015).

Ziegler, Mary. “Sexing Harris: The Law and Politics of the Movement to Defund Planned Parenthood.” Buff. L. Rev. 60 (2012): 701.