A measure in President Barack Obama's health care plan could allow for special interest groups like Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion services provider, to operate health care clinics, at taxpayer expense, inside America's public schools.
Under Title V ("Other Provisions") of Obama's "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009" (the official name for the bill, H.R. 3200), Subtitle B (School-Based Health Clinics, or SBHC) outlines a program in which the federal government would fund clinics in or near the nation's schools. The administration of these clinics will not rest with the school nurse or anyone who answers to the school administration or parents. Under Section 399Z, "the SBHC sponsoring facility assumes all responsibility for the SBHC administration, operations, and oversight."
According to the bill, a "sponsoring facility" is "a hospital, a public health department, a community health center, a nonprofit health care agency, (or) a local educational agency." Such broad wording outlining the qualifications for government funds and access to schoolchildren could open the door for groups like Planned Parenthood to operate the clinics in schools with no oversight and full federal government support. The organization currently operates over 850 clinics nationwide.
The clinics would be funded by federal grants awarded by the Obama administration, which has made it clear that they expect Planned Parenthood to play an active role in their proposed health care system. In the midst of the recent national debate this summer and during the Congressional recess over the health care plan, members of the Obama administration were meeting with Planned Parenthood staff and making strong overtures over their potential role in health care reform.
In July 2009, Tina Tchen, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, spoke at the opening session of the Planned Parenthood 2009 Organizing and Policy Summit. Among the participants in the summit were over 200 teen educators. School-based health clincs would be an ideal outlet for their expertise.
At the summit, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards stated the organization's commitment to be a part of health care reform. "Health care reform is moving full steam ahead," she said. "Policymakers in Washington need to know the importance of including women's health care as part of a reform package. We are grateful that Tina Tchen took time to update us on health care reform and take our message back to (her) colleagues." In a press release, Planned Parenthood stated the summit's particpants would work to ensure "comprehensive reproductive health care" is a part of health care reform.
In June 2009, the White House hosted a Women's Health Care roundtable to discuss ways to improve the health care system. Among the handful of invited guests were Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards and vice-president for advocacy and public policy Laurie Rubiner. Leading the roundtable was Obama's health care reform czar Nancy-Ann DeParle (official title: Director of the White House Office of Health Reform), Tina Tchen, and Melody Barnes, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.
Barnes formerly served as Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. Under her tenure, the Center issued a policy paper entitled "More Than a Choice," which attempted to shift "beyond the stagnant abortion debate" and make abortion not a life and death morality issue, but a health care issue.
In a statement issued at the roundtable, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards stated their intent to be a part of health care reform. “As a trusted preventive health care provider to more than three million women a year...we see firsthand the need for quality, affordable health care for women and families and the need to invest in prevention care. Any meaningful health care reform needs to lower costs, as well as expand coverage and access. That means expanding coverage for comprehensive reproductive health care and ensuring that essential community providers like Planned Parenthood are included in health plan networks.”
Not only does Richards expect the Obama Administration to include Planned Parenthood services in health plan networks, the SBHC provision of H.R. 3200 makes the prospect of Planned Parenthood operating in-school clinics a near certainty. Few established hospital systems would be capable of immediately expanding into non-revenue generating sectors like schools. Planned Parenthood, however, who relies on federal funding and has already begun training hundreds of teen educators, would not only be ready to take on such a task as administration of a school clinic, in many cases, they may be the only option. Expanding into schools would also fit into Richards goal of "expanding coverage and access."
In July 2009, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) admitted in a subcommittee meeting that Planned Parenthood would be designated an "essential community provider," which would put them in line to qualify for federal funding for abortions, and potentially, administration of school based health clinics.
Even as a senator, Barack Obama was a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood's agenda. In a 2007 speech at a Planned Parenthood event, Obama said abortion would be "at the center, the heart of" his plans for health care reform.
Sources: Obama Committed to Women's Health, Abortion Coming to Light in Health Care Package,
AmericanProgress.org, PlannedParenthood.org
Comments
Why do you fear Planned Parenthood so much? Simply because it isnt prohibited in the bill does not in any way indicate that it would happen. This is just blatant fear mongering for people too stupid to think for themselves. I relied on PP all through college for my pap smears and birth control. How many times do we have to discuss that 97% of PP's services are preventative--contraceptive and gyno health care? Why the constant denigration of a woman's health clinic?
Wow! I see now how the lies get started.
This is just more of the disinformation campaign designed to instill fear of change in the public's mind. No rational examination of the proposals in HB3200 leads to "death panels", or any of the other egregious lies the Right is spreading. Progressives have to push back against this kind of stupidity. Already, one of the more useful AND cost-effective provisions
(advanced directives, living wills etc.) has been subsumed in the fires of Savoarolas of Outer Wingnuttia. What the health care industry doesn't want you to know is that when people have advanced directives and living wills, their care costs less because THEY often CHOOSE not to have the most expensive, extreme measures taken. Hospice and palliative care as a nationwide initiative for end of life care is a GOOD thing.
Thank you for writing this article! The people who think this is disinformation don't seem to be too opposed to planned parenthood.
Abortion and contraceptives are not "women's Health Care". They are the murder of innocent babies and the prevention of unwanted pregnancies by both interruption of implantation and abortifacients, which cause cancer in women. America is snowed into these evil and deadly practices by the re-engineering of terminology into lies, and people are being brainwashed into thinking murder and mutilation is acceptable and "care." Planned Parenthood interrupts and murders life, as well as cover up rapes of minors while providing abortions secretly; thus, not reporting the abuse as to apprehend the criminal. Documented. Women are not made to butcher babies in their wombs. This is not "Health Care" - it is genocide, especially foisted upon the black race. Abstinence and life saving methods are Health Care. Wake up America. We are going against the Natural Laws and man is NOT God. Neither is our present government. We must protect our children; not make excuses to leave them to butchers & criminals
Research before you rage, kiddo.
Jesus lady, take off your tinfoil hat.
OMGZ THEY WILL PERFORM ABORTIONZ ON TEH KIDSZZZZZ! SCARY!
Not really.
It is not blatant fear mongering to point out some simple facts:
Planned Parenthood (PP) was a key funder of President Obama's campaign. PP is more capable of opening free clinics in schools than for profit hospitals and clinics since it already has well established federal funding channels. Also, as a non-profit org, PP does not have to worry about convincing investors with a business plan before opening these clinics. Another interesting fact: PP makes more money on abortions than it does on preventative care. Since it doesn't have to pay out income to investors, it can "reinvest" profits made in its employee pay and expanding their base. Therefore expanding the number of abortions provided.
One question to those who have children in highschool: who would you rather have teaching your children about sexual activity? PP (whose business revolves around selling contraception and abortions and encouraging dangerous behavior- sex leads to STDs and pregnancy!) or the parent themself?
Family Planning clinics in schools, my, my. It'll be so convenient to teach the kids how to have and enjoy sex in classroom and then later they can go down the hall and have the resulting baby killed all in the name of good health and preventative medicine.
People should have kmown that Mr. Oboma is very pro choice.At Saddle Back Church,the main minister directly asked Mr. Oboma a question. Was he for or againist abortions. He then said he did not have a high enough pay grade to figure it out. I STILL PERSONALLY LIKE THE MAN. I JUST DID NOT VOTE FOR HIM.
""If there is a lack of respect for the right to life and to a natural death, if human conception, gestation and birth are made artificial, if human embryos are sacrificed to research, the conscience of society ends up losing the concept of human ecology and, along with it, that of environmental ecology. It is contradictory to insist that future generations respect the natural environment when our educational systems and laws do not help them to respect themselves
I must also mention a further area of grave concern: the policies of those who, claiming to improve the 'social edifice', threaten its very foundations. How bitter the irony of those who promote abortion as a form of 'maternal' healthcare! How disconcerting the claim that the termination of life is a matter of reproductive health."
As pro-population controllers and rabid pro-abortionist's, those in the Obama administration and the majority of Democrats want nothing more than to infiltrate public schools with more than their "comprehensive sex education" programs, i.e., indoctrinating and brainwashing children into being prostitutes as early as possible. They need more control over children and what better avenue than to reward their favorite child-killing organization, Planned Parenthood, by using taxpayer monies to get them right into the schools to make sure kids understand what is expected of them?
How would a child becoming a prostitute bring in tax revenues for them? Are you even aware of what you're saying or do you just word-vomit?
Kate: If "thinking for yourself" means blindly accepting things without proof, then this country is in real trouble.
The fact is PP makes most of its money performing abortions, not providing contraceptives or pap smears.
The fact is PP is a corrupt organization that overcharges people for contraceptives (they were recently sued in Washington State for doing this) and they circumvent the laws requiring them to report incest and rape.
Is it "fear-mongering" for parents to be afraid of allowing a corrupt organization into their child's school?
planned parenthood is the offspring of Margaret Sanger's Eugenics Organization, whose stated goal is to exterminate the negro population, who was involved in sterilizing eastern Europeans and blacks and others in the last century. They are financed by the feds to the tune of 300 million yearly and abort 50% of all black pregnancies, even though black women make up only 6.25% of the population. If you go to YouTube and type in planned parenthood, UCLA, you will see the latest on them. Bad news people. Wake up.
im 17 and in high school and i think that planned parenthood should not be allowed in schools..kids should be more responsible.
Kate, everything you listed out is just fine - no problems. It's the funding of abortions with taxpayer's dollars that are wrong - no matter what the reason for the abortion. There's no fear - there's only people who have moral standards that aren't willing to budge and will stick to those standards to protect a child's right to their very existence.
Good thing none of the funding goes to abortions, but everything else they offer.
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