As we face the prospect of a government shutdown, we urge those covering the story to report on the issue accurately. A number of outlets have reported that the standoff on Capitol Hill concerns “abortion funding.” This is wholly inaccurate and is nothing more than a political talking point.

Federal law already bars the use of federal funds for abortion services. There is no federal abortion funding to cut.

What’s at stake is not “abortion funding.” Abortion services are not covered by Medicaid or any other federal program. The Hyde amendment settled that issue more than 30 years ago.

The truth is that the rider regarding Planned Parenthood would bar Planned Parenthood from being paid by Medicaid and other federal programs for providing women with birth control, cancer screenings, HIV testing, and testing and treatment for other STIs.

More than 90 percent of the health care Planned Parenthood provides is preventive.

Every year, Planned Parenthood doctors and nurses provide:
-nearly one million screenings for cervical cancer
-830,000 breast exams
-affordable birth control to nearly 2.5 million patients
-nearly four million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV testing

We ask that you report on the issue accurately. It is not a proposal over funding for abortion but a debate over a proposal to exclude one health care provider — one that provides high-quality health care at extremely low rates — from participating in existing federal programs.

A more accurate way to refer to this is that it is a debate over “Planned Parenthood” or “family planning and preventive health care.” It is not a debate over “funding for abortion.”

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    I volunteered at Planned Parenthood. And although I wasn’t there for very long, I got to know the people who worked...

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    Yes! I too am so sick of hearing them call it “funding abortion” that isn’t what Planned Parenthood is all about! Jezze!...

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