At the end of October, the last clinic where abortions are performed in Cincinnati, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Mount Auburn, was cited by the Ohio health department and could close in the near future.
Last year, a law was passed in the state of Ohio that requires clinics that perform abortions to have agreements with private hospitals to transfer patients in case of emergencies. Allegedly, the Mount Auburn clinic did not meet the requirements of this law.
Regardless of one’s opinion on abortion, the way that the media has portrayed this situation is deplorable.
Planned Parenthood is not just an “abortion clinic,” as stated in the headline of the story in the Cincinnati Enquirer (http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2014/10/24/cincinnati-planned-parenthood-abortion-clinic-transfer-agreement/17821871/).
Planned Parenthood clinics provide many services conducive to women’s health, including testing and treatment for STDs and ovarian, breast and cervical cancer screenings.
It is unacceptable to infer that a variety of services for women’s health can be reduced to abortions, which only account for 3 percent of the services that Planned Parenthood provides.
It is also unacceptable to overlookthis story’s implications regarding the importance of local politics.
In the past, clinics could remain in compliance with the law requiring agreements with private hospitals by making agreements with individual physicians. Now, state officials are changing the game. Why is it that this particular requirement is just now being enforced, and is it being done with a particular agenda in mind?
We cannot fully account for that, but we know this: if you didn’t think voting for judges and governors was important, we’ve found a reason for you. We have the power to elect representatives who enforce laws fairly and consistently. But it seems it’s too late for that now
My thoughts on “Staff editorial: Planned Parenthood”
I would like to respond to the staff editorial about Planned Parenthood published in the November 12th edition of the Newswire. I am an XU alum and would like the opportunity to respond since you encourage dialogue about relevant issues.
In response to your statement about Planned Parenthood’s abortions only accounting for 3 percent of their services. It is important to note that this statement is very misleading. In order to get this figure, they count every box of condoms and birth control pills the same as an expensive abortion. Actually, 12% of Planned Parenthood’s clients were abortion patients. (That is 1 in 8 according to their Fact sheet in 2009) Based on Planned Parenthood’s Annual Report an unborn baby dies every 94 seconds inside a Planned Parenthood building. In truth, Planned Parenthood is the largest provider and promoter of abortion procedures in the United States and their income from these life ending procedures approached 1.2 billion dollars in the fiscal year of 2011-2012 according to their Annual Report.
I would also like to respond to your statement about Planned Parenthood providing screenings for breast cancer. It is important to note that Planned Parenthood is not licensed to do any mammograms.They instead refer people to another facility for this procedure. This is according to the US Department of Health and also according to Planned Parenthood.
Lastly, I would like to remind your readers about the importance of paying attention to the teachings of our Holy Roman Catholic Church. In our Catholic Catechism, it very clearly states that formal cooperation in an abortion is a very grave offense because abortion ends an innocent life.(Catholic Catechism:2272) It’s also important to remember that Our Lord Jesus Christ is a forgiving, merciful Savior to all who come to Him with a humble heart and His Sacrament of Reconciliation or confession is very powerful and healing.