What comes to mind when you hear the words Planned Parenthood? Some might think of the undercover videos of doctors allegedly trading fetal body parts over a casual lunch conversation. Others may think about abortion. Many students are not even aware that this program exists.

However, Planned Parenthood offers important reproductive services that women and teens across the nation depend on every day. Specifically, it provides reproductive health care and education to prevent unwanted pregnancies and related health issues. Numerous states, including Kansas and Louisiana, have defunded Planned Parenthood because of the aforementioned questionable videos and controversial services. However, state governments should continue to fund Planned Parenthood because affordable, accessible reproductive health care and education must be available to all Americans.

Planned Parenthood states on their website that their services help prevent about 516,000 unintended pregnancies every year. While it is a valid point that every life has the potential to achieve something incredible, this could mean 516,000 less children are abandoned, left in foster care, or otherwise brought into unstable situations each year. Prevention of accidental pregnancies also decreases chances of child abuse, as unqualified parents often release their anger on their children.

Moreover, contrary to common belief, the program prevents pregnancies primarily with contraception, such as the morning-after pill and birth control, rather than abortion. In fact, according to NPR, only three percent of the services offered by Planned Parenthood are abortions. Pro-life politicians often latch onto this controversial practice as their main argument against Planned Parenthood, when in reality the program performs a very small number of abortions.

While many believe that abortions kill unborn, helpless children, it is often a necessary action for many women to take for health, financial, and emotional reasons. Pregnancies can come at times in a woman’s life when she does not have the means to support a child, and the life and health of the mother should be the first priority.

Says one recipient of an abortion through Planned Parenthood, “At age 17, I became pregnant. I went to Planned Parenthood, and the staff confirmed my pregnancy. I decided to terminate the pregnancy because it was the best option for me at the time… It was a difficult decision, but I already was a parent to my sister, and I couldn’t financially or emotionally provide for another child… My life is better because of my decision. I got to finish high school, and I became a certified nurse assistant.” Planned Parenthood’s services assist women who cannot provide for a child, improving their quality of life and preventing unintended births. This right should remain safe and legal for women across the nation.

Planned Parenthood offers numerous other services besides pregnancy prevention, including STD/STI screening and treatment. Sexually Transmitted Infections, including AIDs, chlamydia, and herpes, often do not cause symptoms. However, they can bring about major health issues, which is why the STI screening and treatment that Planned Parenthood provides is so important. According to the website, Planned Parenthood performs nearly “4.5 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, including 700,000 HIV tests” each year. By defunding this program, state governments prevent citizens from receiving the quality care they need to combat these infections.

It is important that Planned Parenthood continues to receive the funding necessary for their services to provide quality health care. Anti-abortionists must recognize that the program offers many crucial services besides abortion that Americans depend on daily. Citizens across the nation must support the program before additional states defund it.