Planned Parenthood: Contact Your Congressperson

by Trina Walker  & Lisa Ricchio

As most people probably know by now, or at least should know, there is an amendment which has passed the House of Representatives and is on its way to the Senate, called the Pence Amendment. The Pence Amendment would strip Planned Parenthood and 102 affiliated organizations of all federal funding which includes money for contraception, cancer screening, STD testing and treating, education, family planning counseling, and much more. This Amendment would cut off 48% of Planned Parenthood patients, which is approximately 1.4 million people. Planned Parenthood and other organizations like it have provided many resources to women and men across the country for decades; I know I have personally taken advantage of the services offered, as have many of my peers. What is interesting about this amendment is that it seeks to defund Planned Parenthood because it provides abortion services to its patients. However, only 3% of Planned Parenthood services are abortions and none of the federal money Planned Parenthood receives is used for abortions. The Pence Amendment is just another attempt to push anti-choice legislation onto citizens in an effort to take away a woman’s right to choose guaranteed in 1973 under Roe v. Wade. One important step citizens can take to make sure this amendment does not pass the Senate is to contact their elected officials whether by phone call, email, or letter.

Keeping in contact with elected officials is one of the best ways people can make sure their voices are being heard and that their representatives are actually doing the will of their constituents. It is an easy process to find out contact information for Congressional members. One can easily type into Google “Congressional Directory” and find the government site which provides information on any and all Congressional members, even which elected officials represent them in the House and Senate. There is also a U.S. Capitol switchboard number to call (202) 224-3121, if constituents prefer, where one can be connected to the office of their representative and speak directly to a staff member. With all these resources available at our fingertips there is no excuse to not let our voices be heard in regards to the Pence Amendment. We need to call, write and email our representative and let them know how we feel about this outrageous attack on reproductive services. Without funding to Planned Parenthood and similar organizations, they will not be able to provide the important services which help so many women and men. We need to let our Senators know that we want them to vote NO on the Pence Amendment, and we need to contact our House members and find out how they voted on this bill, (if we don’t know already) and let them know, if we agree with that vote or not. This is the motivation behind what the AS Women’s Center is doing in its next three tabling events. We will be providing students with access to sign the pledge against this amendment, as well as showing students how to get in contact with their representatives.

If the bill passes the Senate, which is a doubtful prediction in the Democratic led Senate, it will go on to the President for signing. If he vetoes the bill it will go back to the House where it can be overruled with a 2/3 majority. We cannot afford to be silent, we need to take action.

Help Save Planned Parenthood! Contact your Lawmakers now!!