PLANNED PARENTHOOD

Reproductive health clinic wants you to believe it’s an anti-cancer group that we have to fund to the hilt

As the Senate considers a health care bill that redirects Medicaid funding away from Planned Parenthood, a major decision faces U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake.

Planned Parenthood has launched a misleading ad campaign on the issue featuring a woman who self-discovered a lump in her breast and turned to Planned Parenthood. It asserts that 37,000 women use Planned Parenthood in Arizona and will be adversely affected by congressional action.

The ad makes it seem like Planned Parenthood plays a major role in cancer detection. In reality, they play no such role nationally or in most communities, especially rural areas.

As their annual report reveals, Planned Parenthood does not offer mammograms or treatment for breast cancer, and their breast exam rate between 2011-12 and 2015-16 declined from 21.3 per 100 patients to 13.4 per 100. They show a similarly large decrease Cathi Herrod is president of the Center for Arizona Policy and Marjorie Dannenfelser is president of Susan B. Anthony List. in pap smear testing for cervical cancer.

The ad likewise leaves the impression that Planned Parenthood completely relies on public funding. But again the new annual report shows that Planned Parenthood is already 60 percent privately financed, regularly accrues net revenue that makes it one of the wealthiest nonprofits in America, and grew its private donations by more than $90 million last year.

In short, Planned Parenthood is poised to maintain services to threefourths or more of its current client base.

That means around 9,000 women — an average of about one new client per week for the state’s alternative providers — may be seeking a new medical home if the Republicans’ health care bill passes the Senate.

This is precisely where the strength See CLINIC, Page 7E