Washington, DC — Protesters supporting Planned Parenthood at the Supreme Court on Wednesday were mostly surprised to hear about the abortion provider’s current financial difficulties but did not believe it should reduce spending on political activism to focus on services.
Planned Parenthood argued in its case against South Carolina, which considers whether states can block Medicaid funding from going to the organization, that offering coverage is crucial for Medicaid users to access the organization’s non-abortion services, such as contraception, cancer screenings and prenatal services. Yet protesters consistently named abortion as their reason for showing up outside the court.
One woman who came to Washington, D.C. on a bus from New York — one of several organized by Planned Parenthood — said both healthcare and activism are “incredibly important at this moment.”
“I came from New York on a bus to support what the Supreme Court is hearing: the case today about whether or not Medicaid can pay for Planned Parenthood,” she said. “I’m just appalled. This was something in the 1970s that I thought we had taken care of and here we are again, fighting for all our rights. For women’s rights. For anybody but a white male power. Billionaires are the ones who are getting everything they want. It’s just time we all stand up.”
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In February, a New York Times investigation found resource-starved local clinics were routinely failing to provide quality care: highlighting examples of botched abortions and IUDs, preparing patients for the wrong procedures or staff administering the wrong medications. Despite receiving $498 million in donations the year after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the organization spends the majority of its money on the abortion-related political activism, the NYT reported.
Planned Parenthood of Greater New York announced March 19 that its only Manhattan clinic would be closing due to financial difficulties.
One protester from Maryland who spoke with the DCNF did not know much about the case before the Supreme Court and appeared unaware of Planned Parenthood’s financial difficulties.
“I’m here to protect women’s freedom to have their body, their choice,” she said. “I’m here for freedom, honestly.”
Another man, who traveled from Minnesota and held a pride flag, knew some clinics were closing due to financial struggles but didn’t have an opinion on their political activism.
“Planned Parenthood does healthcare for women, all women,” he said. “Trans healthcare, birth control classes to teach kids about birth control and stuff.”
Over the past 15 years, Planned Parenthood’s “cancer screening and preventative services have dropped by 71%, prenatal services by 80%, and contraceptive services by 39%,” according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Yet its abortions have risen 20% in the last 10 years.
Just one man who spoke with the DCNF, who traveled from New York, agreed Planned Parenthood should limit its spending on activism. Several other protesters emphasized that Planned Parenthood needs to spend money on activism because abortion rights are being threatened.
“I think they unfortunately have to spend a lot of money on political activism because there are some people who for some reason think they need to dictate what other people’s choices [are] about their bodies,” one woman holding a “What Would Jesus Do” sign told the DCNF.
Joseph Tolten, founder of an organization called Interconnected Justice whose mission is to “dismantle white supremacy and to deconstruct patriarchy,” told the DCNF that abortion is part of the “Jesus tradition.”
“They [Planned Parenthood] have to make their own decisions internally with regard to how they are going to spend their budget,” Tolten said. “I trust their professionalism, their sensitivity to the issues, to know what that calibration is between direct service care expenditures and expenditures on matters of policy and politics because those things go together. Their ability to lift up the issues on the political spectrum actually helps them to grow their base financially to then invest into those direct care services.”
If the Supreme Court sides with South Carolina, it could open the door to more states blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds.
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