By Emme Tran | Junior Editor

   President Donald Trump’s promise to completely defund Planned Parenthood if re-elected on Nov. 3 should not be put into effect as it would negatively impact hundreds of thousands of low-income families in the United States. This action would prevent access to necessary health care and resources to millions of people in need. 

   As a member of the Republican party, Trump is at the forefront of the anti-abortion movement and has worked to make it more difficult to access abortions since the beginning of his presidential term. By defunding Planned Parenthood – a health care service that offers contraception, pregnancy testing, counselling, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and sexually transmitted infections – Trump actively aims to lower abortion rates. 

  Defunding Planned Parenthood would prevent the government from providing reimbursement and grants for delivering medical care through health programs like Medicaid and Title X, according to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Trump has already moved forward towards accomplishing this through the Title X gag rule which was put into effect on July 11, 2019. 

   As reported by NBC News, clinics within the program are barred from “making referrals or even informing patients about abortion providers.” Rather than complying, Planned Parenthood exited the program soon after it was implemented. This halted federal funding for the thousands of families it aided.

   What Trump failed to account for is that Planned Parenthood is not just an abortion clinic, but a health care provider for millions of people with no way to pay for health insurance. Without Planned Parenthood, these families are left with no way to pay for medical care.

   In addition to testing and treatment, Planned Parenthood also offers several essential education programs. These includes child birth classes, pregnancy counseling, safer sex education, and many more. Its goal is to engage communities by offering education services to schools, parents, and professionals.

   At Gabrielino High School specifically, a Planned Parenthood representative visits the mandatory health class taught by Kent Monteleone annually, and presents on various sex health topics. This allows students to be informed about birth control, contraception and STDs. Without this visit, many students may miss out on key health information.

   Planned Parenthood also provides vital health care and resources for the public to receive care if their situation does not allow them to visit a larger health clinic. Millions of citizens – predominantly people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and residentes of rural areas –  look to Planned Parenthood for health coverage each year. 

   There are other more ethical options to lower abortion rates. As suggested by the Center for American Progress, the United states could require medically accurate sexual education in schools, reduce costs for family planning services, create greater access to emergency contraception, and create programs that aim to educate people about domestic violence and sexual abuse. All of this could be done in lieu of defunding a vital health organization like Planned Parenthood.

   Trump should not defund Planned Parenthood. Not only because it would be unethical, but because too many people rely on the organization for health care and education.