On February 18, the House of Representatives passed an amendment that would eliminate all federal funding to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, an organization devoted to providing reproductive health care to any and all who need it. Planned Parenthood has become a target for conservative lawmakers because in addition to sex education, general health care, cancer screenings, contraception, pregnancy related care and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, Planned Parenthood offers abortions to women who want them. While Planned Parenthood does receive around $300 million in federal funding, this money cannot go towards providing abortions. For many Americans, especially those living in poorer areas, Planned Parenthood is the only place where women, men and young adults can find affordable health care. In a time when millions of Americans live in poverty and the unemployment rate is almost ten percent, it is disgusting that Congressmen and women are spending their time destroying an organization whose only goal is to provide safe, affordable health care. As Representative Jackie Speier reminded the House the day before the amendment passed, abortion is legal in the United States. While this seems like an obvious statement, Americans often forget the law. Dissolving Planned Parenthood will not make abortions illegal, but simply eliminate many women’s access to a trustworthy procedure. Making legal and safe abortions impossible for women to find will only increase the number of dangerous, illegal abortions. Destroying one of the few organizations that provides abortions will set American back almost 40 years, before the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. In Palo Alto, affordable abortions may not be the most pressing concern as most people have the means to safe procedures without organizations like Planned Parenthood, but that does not mean that this community would be unaffected by the recently passed amendment, were it to become the law. Like in any other high school in the world, some Palo Alto High School students are sexually active. While one could argue that all young people who make the decision to engage in a sexual relationship should be mature enough to discuss these issues with their parents or another trusted adult, the truth is that many do not. For a variety of reasons ranging from awkwardness to fear, many teenagers do not talk to their parents before having sex. Therefore, it is vital that there is somewhere for these young people to go where they can legally obtain birth control without notifying a parent. “I chose to go to planned parenthood because it’s free and I didn’t want to tell my parents that I was sexually active but I still wanted to be safe,” a Paly senior who wished to remain anonymous said. Even for teenagers who do feel comfortable talking to their parents about sex, birth control can be very expensive and is often unaffordable. Planned Parenthood is a primary resource for young people who need inexpensive or free contraceptives. “Being safe about sex is expensive,” another Paly senior said. “Everywhere you go Plan B is at least $50, birth control can be over $70 if insurance doesn’t cover it [and] condoms can cost $13, all of which adds up. Planned Parenthood was a way to get away from all of that. Going there was a way to still be safe about sex but at a price that was reasonable for a teenager.” Clearly, making sex illegal until the age of 18, as it is in California, does little to stop teenagers. Taking away Planned Parenthood would eliminate a primary resource for young people who want to have safe sex. The government should be supporting young people who want to be safe, not making it harder for them. Surely it is more important for teenagers who do choose to have sex to be safe about their decision so that they can avoid sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. Although Paly students may think of Planned Parenthood primarily for supplying information and contraceptives to help young adults make safe and informed decisions regarding sex, all over the country Planned Parenthood provides even more basic health care to millions of women and men. While Planned Parenthood’s primary focus may be on reproductive health for women, according to their website, the organization also offers general health care services, such as anemia testing, cholesterol screening, diabetes screening, physical exams, flu vaccines, help with quitting smoking, high blood pressure screening, tetanus vaccines and thyroid screening. Taking away all of these services merely because abortion makes people uncomfortable is a ridiculous use of the government’s time and could be dangerous for many Americans. For lawmakers to insist that cutting the funding for Planned Parenthood is part of the effort to diminish the country’s national debt and stabilize the economy is simply preposterous.  The vote to cut the vast majority of Planned Parenthood funding had nothing to do with cutting down on spending. It was purely a political decision to destabilize an organization just because it provides safe abortions, despite the fact that no federal funding goes towards abortion care. “This is not about reducing the debt or the deficit; It’s not about fiscal responsibility.” Senator Richard Blumenthal said in a speech urging the Senate to vote down the amendment. While $330 million seems like a lot of money, in terms of the national budget, it is actually quite small. According to the American Friends Service Committee, which has won a Nobel Prize for its work to promote peace, the United States government spends $720 million every day on the Iraq war alone. This comes down to $500,000 every minute, which means that if Congress cuts the $330 million from Planned Parenthood, that money could instead fund the Iraq war for less than 11 hours. If the government wants to really cut spending and reduce the deficit, decreasing funding for Planned Parenthood is not the best course of action. Hopefully, the Senate will strike down the destructive amendment and Planned Parenthood will have the resources to continue to help millions of Americans. There is no reason to cut Planned Parenthood funding as it will do little or nothing to reduce the deficit and will take away medical services from women, men and young adults all over the country. In Palo Alto, the absence of a nearby Planned Parenthood could result in more teenagers having unsafe sex with no resource for contraceptives. For many patients, the amendment could take away a primary source of health care. Planned Parenthood is vital to reproductive health and affordable health care in general and it is despicable for lawmakers to destroy the organization in a veiled anti-choice political maneuver.