July 2, 2009
Why is it that whenever tales of women’s health and reproduction are written, it's always the big bad wolf of abortion that gets the press? Sure, it’s natural—and media savvy—for anti-choice organizations to want to capitalize on the downfall of a perceived enemy. However, it seems in decidedly poor taste for any organization to gloat over a small victory (the reduction of abortion referrals) when it comes with such a loss of services to the community. Bad show, STOPP and co. Will you now pony up the funding for STD treatment if the rates of infection rise?
For me, a visit to Planned Parenthood was as much a rite of passage as becoming sexually active. I don’t say that just to glorify the experience, but rather to explain that when I decided to take that step, it was an absolute given that I should act like an adult about it and begin to take responsibility for my sexual health and fertility. Planned Parenthood services allowed me to do that.
I went to the Pebble Hills clinic several times while growing up in El Paso—both in high school and college—for birth control and STD screenings. I also referred numerous friends to their services and all of us, to my knowledge, have remained disease and—intentionally—pregnancy free (no abortions, no miscarriages) to this day.
True, we belong to a circle of highly educated Gen Y ladies now, but without Planned Parenthood I’m unsure where we’d have turned back then. Even for smart, increasingly independent, middle class girls, discretion was a necessary aspect of caring for our bodies. Though we might have been able to afford a visit to the regular doctor (with some clever lunch money saving), in El Paso—where it seems like everyone knows you, your mother or your grandmother’s name—a doctor’s waiting room or hospital clinic hardly assured privacy.
Imagine, then, how the loss of Planned Parenthood may impact the health of women and girls who don’t have the means to seek other care. And by means, I’m not referring only to cost. Discretion and access are everything in dealing with women’s health. I worry that when a city the size of El Paso limits access, it puts its women at a greater risk for unchecked disease and for retaliation from people (mom, dad, husband, boyfriend, brother, etc.) who shouldn’t have any control over their lives and their bodies, but quite often still do.
Alas, what’s done is done. I’d feel better if there’d been some warning or even a last ditch call-to-action campaign for supporters to ‘Save Our Services’. But while someone certainly dropped the PR ball, I’m not just looking for a better spin on a bad story.
I want to see a plan for transitioning and educating patients (beyond a flier posted at the front door), and stepping up outreach to future patients—from either Planned Parenthood or the City itself. I want at least the high level details of a viable funding plan—one that ensures the remaining clinics, like La Fe and Project VIDA, can actually handle the displaced clientele. Then I might have some confidence that the players understand the gravity of the situation and have a plan for moving forward when yesterday’s press release is at the bottom of last year’s news.
Forgive my doubt—I’m sure everyone means well, but you know what they say about the road to hell. As it stands, all I’ve seen is a boiler plate letter that essentially says ‘sorry, we’re broke, not our problem anymore’ and a little back slapping for ‘running the abortionists out of town’.
So would that be a Right or a Left turn to the gates of perdition?
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Vanessa Torres is an alumna of Loretto High School and UTEP. She currently works as a web project manager and freelance writer in Austin, Texas, and is a regular contributor at BitchBuzz.com.