1 week Ago
I love going to Planned Parenthood because the waiting rooms always have the best branded swag. At my most recent visit, I scored a pair of plastic sunglasses, a fidget spinner toy, earplugs (just in case, I guess) and some stickers. Plus, there’s bowls of free condoms.
Considering condoms are $2.89 for a three-pack at Hannaford right now, that’s a bargain. And aren’t we all saving where we can? At most doctor’s offices, you’re lucky if they let you walk off with a pen.
Of course, most doctor’s offices aren’t lightning rods for conservative political rage. It’s funny that the right wing is constantly attacking Planned Parenthood for providing abortion services, because Planned Parenthood does more than any politician to prevent abortion. You can’t get an abortion if you don’t get pregnant in the first place, duh.
I first went to a Planned Parenthood in the summer of 2016, just before Donald Trump won that year’s election and began putting the final nails in the coffin of Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to an abortion. I was 24 years old and had researched various methods of birth control and decided that a Nexplanon implant was the right choice for me.
It was quick, easy, inexpensive and kept me pregnancy-free for five years (when I swapped it out for another one). Longtime readers will know, I’ve had a couple of partners since then. Those two actions by Planned Parenthood nurse practitioners have saved more money for MaineCare than any of the screeching weirdos who protest outside the Portland clinic on Fridays.
For the record, Planned Parenthood offers plenty of other services, including but not limited to: breast and cervical cancer screening, STI testing and treatment, gender-affirming care, general wellness exams, prenatal and postpartum care, mental health care, even some vaccines. They’re doing flu shots this year! When I’ve dealt with UTIs, appointments at Planned Parenthood were quicker to schedule than with my PCP and cheaper than urgent care. I have private health insurance; I could go to other clinics.
But I go to Planned Parenthood for everything that I can, because they would take me even if I didn’t have that insurance. Can’t say the same for most other health care providers (plus the free souvenirs). Planned Parenthood of Northern New England – the branch that services Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire – is in trouble right now; $8.
6 million worth of trouble, in fact. A combination of declining revenue (inflation causes stagnant reimbursement rates to fall behind the cost of providing services) and increased demand (economic problems leading people to need more subsidized care, jerks and dweebs banning abortion in various states) has blown a hole in the budget, and money is draining out. A bill that would have provided $3.
4 million in state money to Planned Parenthood and Maine Family Planning failed to get funded in the last two legislative sessions, despite passing both the Maine House and Senate. So the votes are there. But someone didn’t think reproductive health was a priority for the budget.
Overall, 60% of Maine’s Legislature is male. Hmm. Wonder if there’s a connection there.
For the record, the money wouldn’t have gone toward any abortion services, which only make up 3% of their appointments . Not that it seems to matter. People who oppose abortion tend to oppose any services that make sex less risky and dangerous for people.
Lots of doctor’s offices and clinics offer various types of reproductive care, but Planned Parenthood has cornered the market in terms of brand recognition. Usually, brand name recognition is good! In this case, all it does is provide a big, easy target for people in power who hate personal freedom to attack. Ever heard the phrase “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? Money given to Planned Parenthood and Maine Family Planning should be considered an investment for the state of Maine.
In 2022, the last year for which I could find data, MaineCare – that is, the state’s Medicaid program – covered 37% of all births in Maine. (And that includes prenatal and postpartum care too.) According to the CDC , roughly 40% of all pregnancies are unintended, and the latest numbers I could find there were from 2019, three years before the fall of Roe.
There were various points in the last eight years where if I had gotten pregnant, I would have ended up on MaineCare and using WIC and food stamps to provide for myself and a child. But because of the services Planned Parenthood provided to me, at extremely low prices, I have been able to become a homeowner, reach financial stability and meet the right partner. My prenatal care will be covered by Aetna, and I have a decent job that pays me enough to provide for myself and a small family.
Nobody’s ever really ready to become a parent, in the metaphysical sense, but I’m definitely a lot more ready than I was when I was an alcoholic living with my mom. For me, Planned Parenthood has served its original, namesake purpose. It has allowed me to plan for parenthood, rather than have it thrust upon me against my will.
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, in particular the Biddeford and Topsham clinics, has been there for me. We should be there for Planned Parenthood. Victoria Hugo-Vidal is a Maine millennial.
She can be contacted at: [email protected] Twitter: @mainemillennial We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website.
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