What Planned Parenthood Really Does
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A nurse took Tiara Thurman’s blood pressure at the Planned Parenthood health center in Akron. Ms. Thurman, 24, was at the clinic this week to get Depo-Provera, an injectable form of birth control that works for three months. The nurse asked Ms. Thurman about her family history, allergies and history of surgeries and pregnancy — she has a daughter, now 2. The nurse offered Ms. Thurman free condoms.
After that, a nurse practitioner came in to ask a few more questions and administer the shot. Looking through Ms. Thurman’s medical history, the nurse practitioner said Ms. Thurman was young and healthy.
“Young and tired,” Ms. Thurman joked.
The shot, in the hip, is quick. “One, two, three, big poke!” said the nurse practitioner. “Sorry, dear. All done.”
State budget cuts to Planned Parenthood, signed into law last month by Gov. John Kasich, won’t affect the organization’s ability to provide birth control to women like Ms. Thurman. But they could put a stop to a Planned Parenthood program that provides free testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. And the organization might have to stop offering sex education to teenagers in the juvenile justice system and foster care, and home visits to new moms to help prevent infant mortality.
These programs were paid for by grants from the Ohio Department of Health, which is barred under the new law from giving grants to any group that “performs or promotes” abortions. The law is one of many efforts across the country to cut off state money to Planned Parenthood, efforts that could become more common — and more successful — if a Republican, like Mr. Kasich, wins the presidency in November.
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