Fight over Planned Parenthood

The fight over spending cuts that is threatening a shutdown of the federal government this week is an important debate over fiscal policy, but it must be an honest one.

Some new members of the House of Representatives are determined to defund Planned Parenthood. That's an ideological battle that has little to do with deficit reduction but a lot to do with their opposition to abortion.

The House has passed the Pence Amendment, which would ban federal funding of Planned Parenthood. Taking away its allotted $317 million would cripple the organization's ability to provide low-cost preventive health care, including cancer screenings, breast exams, contraceptives, and testing for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.

These are services that women from low-income households use, ones required under Title X of the Public Health Law, the nation's major program to reduce unintended pregnancies by providing contraceptive care. Without the nonprofit Planned Parenthood, which has more than 100 clinics nationwide with more than a dozen in New York, the taxpayer tab would be much higher.

For its opponents, however, Planned Parenthood is the enemy that must be eliminated, because it also provides abortions at some locations. Never mind that the long-standing Hyde amendment bars the use of federal funds for abortions.

The Pence Amendment would do little to stop abortions, but it certainly would stop the delivery of low-cost preventive care to women.