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Sarah Spoor
Professor Emily Thomas
Eng 102
2 April 2017
The Defunding of Planned Parenthood
Defunding Planned Parenthood Act of 2015
The subject of Planned Parenthood has always been controversial. Recently, Planned
Parenthood and some of the services it offers, more specifically, abortion, has caused some
commotion in the government. People who are against abortion, also known as “Pro-Lifers”
This lead to a bill stating that the government will stop funding Planned Parenthood. According
to Congress.gov, the bill declares, “
This bill prohibits, for a one-year period, the availability of
federal funds for any purpose to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or any of its
affiliates or clinics, unless they certify that the affiliates and clinics will not perform, and will not
provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion during such period”. This Act
was passed in the House on September 18, 2015, stirring up even more of an outcry from the
people who support women being able to choose what they would like to do with their own
bodies or “Pro-Choicers”.
History of Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood was founded October 16, 1916, in Brooklyn, New York. Margaret
Sanger, founder of PP, along with her sister and another women’s rights activist opened up the
first birth control clinic to inform and help women in the area plan their futures. After only nine
days of being in business, the police shut the clinic down because during this time, sharing
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information about birth control was against the law. Sanger refused to pay the fine for her crimes
which landed her 30 days in jail, where she shared birth control information with the other
inmates. Being a nurse, she was able to travel the nation, spreading her vision, and leading to the
opening of the second Planned Parenthood in Denver, Colorado. In response to black women
