Millions of women across the country are concerned with Planned Parenthood getting heat from the Republican Party and the issue of these clinics no longer getting federal funding.

 
Normally when people hear about Planned Parenthood, and if they don’t know anything about the organization, they think abortion.

They think of women who are not too smart when it comes to sex and making a baby that they don’t want.

However, Planned Parenthood is so much more than what some critics think it is.

Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that has many services to offer when it comes to sexual health, including birth control options, STD tests and regular check-ups for pregnant women. They also offer cancer screenings and mammograms.

These services can also be free with health insurance, and help many low-income women or men throughout the U.S.

Despite all these services, the main issue that sticks out is abortion.

There are clinics that offer abortion, but not every clinic does, and the federal funding that Planned Parenthood receives is not allowed to go towards abortion.

Lately, Republicans have been slamming these helpful clinics for the accusation of selling aborted baby organs and tissue samples to research centers.

 
The “proof” is this collection of tapes recorded by actors hired from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), who pretended to be representatives of a fake biotechnology company.

The videos got immediate attention, especially from Congress, mainly because selling these different parts is illegal.

Planned Parenthood argued that the videos have been heavily edited and stated that there is no financial benefit.

Many states, including Georgia, Kansas and Missouri have done investigations, and all have confirmed that none of their Planned Parenthood clinics have done these illegal sales.

However, on Monday, after investigating a Houston Planned Parenthood clinic and the accusations selling the organs of aborted fetuses, a grand jury indicted David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, who were the leaders of making these videos, with tampering a governmental record. The crime is a second-degree felony that could be a sentence of 20 years in prison.

Daleiden was also charged with the attempt to purchase or sale of human organs, which is the misdemeanor that he accused Planned Parenthood of doing.

Even with Daleiden and Merritt being indicted, Republicans are still going on with the investigations for the concern of what happens after an abortion takes place.

Let’s say that these clinics are defunded.

Millions of low-income women across the country would no longer receive their free birth control, or their afforable STD tests, and the proper care they need for their reproductive health.

Planned Parenthood is needed throughout America for low-income women (or men), and many of the services that are offered can be free with insurance.

If you need access to STD or pregnancy tests, Student Health in the Kanter Student Center is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The nearest Planned Parenthood is on Stone Avenue in Sioux City, Iowa.