Planned Parenthood, the nonprofit that provides reproductive health services to low-income women, will likely have its funding cut now that Republicans have gained control of the House, the Senate, and the Executive Branch. The newly elected 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, has repeatedly threatened to defund the organization if it does not stop performing abortions.
“I am committed to defunding Planned Parenthood as long as they continue to perform abortions and reallocating their funding to community health centers that provide comprehensive health care for women,” Trump wrote in a letter outlining his pro-life polices.
Trump’s running mate Mike Pence, who will now serve as the Vice President of the United States, has had a long history of waging war against Planned Parenthood. In an interview with POLITICO, Pence expressed similar sentiments to that of Donald Trump.
“If Planned Parenthood wants to be involved in providing counseling services and HIV testing, they ought not be in the business of providing abortions. As long as they aspire to do that, I’ll be after them.”
And yet Planned Parenthood is standing its ground. Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood, said that she refuses to go back to a pre-Roe era. Back in January of 2016, Richards spoke with three women (Pamela Mason, Leni Silverstein, and Ellen Levine) who had abortions before it was deemed legal.
“We refuse to allow politicians to take us back and that’s why we’re speaking out alongside Pamela, Leni, Ellen and women across the country. Their stories are a cautionary tale for politicians threatening to take women back to a time before abortion was safe and legal. Today, more than ever, these stories need to be heard, because we cannot and we will not go back.”
So long as Richards delivers on her promise to never go back, this will indeed spell the end of Planned Parenthood.