Dear Paul Ryan,
As you work with President Trump to cut off federal funds for Planned Parenthood, I want to take a moment to applaud you. Your efforts to defend the unborn and to provide for the needs of the most vulnerable in your community are admirable and praiseworthy.
This past weekend, the New York Times published a letter from Nicholas Kristof addressed to you, expressing the concern of many in your district regarding Planned Parenthood clinics being shut down. He mentioned they feared “unwanted pregnancy, gonorrhea, [and] breast cancer,” among other things.
He also mentions they’re having trouble reaching you so he offered to help them. But what he failed to do was to educate them on the ten other centers in your district that would help provide the same resources they’re seeking at Planned Parenthood.
You see, Mr. Kristof only told one side of the story, the story many of us are tired of hearing. This story goes something like this:
Planned Parenthood is the only provider of important services to low-income individuals and families! If Planned Parenthood is denied its half a billion dollars in federal funding, they’ll have to close their doors and the people who rely on them for services will be destitute!
When did Planned Parenthood become the only savior of those in need of health services?
Unfortunately for those low-income individuals and families, Mr. Kristof only told half of the story.
In about 20 minutes of research, I discovered nearly a dozen other pregnancy centers and community health centers in your district that can provide the same services as these three Planned Parenthood clinics (these three, as you know, do not provide abortion services). Many of them have multiple campuses, meaning they can assist people in nearly every town in your district. They accept Medicaid and Medicare, and most provide lists of services like this one:
- all FDA approved birth control methods
- sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment
- HIV testing and education
- annual health exam
- breast and cervical cancer screenings
- pregnancy testing and education
- emergency contraception
- certified Medicaid provider
Perhaps if Mr. Kristof had taken the same amount of time to research that he took to film their stories he could have actually helped the people in your district know about the other resources available to them in different clinics.
One of your constituents said, “if we’re going to have a conversation about what’s ‘pro-life,’ then fighting cancer should qualify.” I agree. And that’s why I think it’s great there are other community health centers in your district that are doing just that — providing testing and treatment for your constituents without being tied to an organization that performs 900 abortions per day.
Speaker Ryan, Mr. Kristof would have Americans believe that Planned Parenthood is the only organization in your district that can provide the “desperately needed services” like cervical and breast cancer screenings, family planning, and STI testing and treatments.
It’s too bad he cares more about making a political statement than actually helping to guide and educate the people in your district towards the other community centers and resources readily available to them.
Thank you, Congressman Ryan, for the strength you exhibit to stand for the unborn and those truly unrepresented in your district and in this country. It’s evident that you’re compassionate towards those who need the resources offered in your community, and that you’re only concerned about cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood, the single largest abortion provider in America.
And for those in your district who may be reading and need help finding the community resources they need, here’s a list of all the clinics I found in that 20 minute search I did:
Pregnancy Helpline
Mercy Health Systems
Janesville Community Health Center
First Choice Health Center
Kenosha Community Health Center
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare
Aurora Healthcare
Pregnancy Help Racine
Alpha Center Racine
Care Net Family Resources
Sincerely,
Marcie Little
