Over time, the Trump administration has fought for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. A final rule issued by Trump could cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood by tens of millions of dollars. The Trump administration is pushing for the funding to instead be redirected to pro-life organizations.

Though Planned Parenthood is ignorantly referred to by Trump as “like an abortion factory,” these places do so much more for women, and men as well. Planned Parenthood provides people with health screenings, cancer screenings and prevention, STD screening and treatment, infertility services, pelvic exams, birth control, pregnancy-related services and hormone therapy.

According to Planned Parenthood, only 3 percent of total annual services were abortions. With these numbers, one can’t quite call Planned Parenthood explicitly an “abortion factory,” since 97 percent of its services have nothing to do with abortion and everything to do with men’s and women’s health.

Even for the 3 percent of women who are seeking an abortion at Planned Parenthood, they deserve the choice. To tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her own body is dehumanizing. For people to make a decision requiring a woman to not get the full health care she deserves, no matter the circumstances, completely takes control away from them. Taking this control away is wrong. The multiple reasons behind someone getting an abortion stem far past simply not wanting a baby at that point and time. Health problems can affect the mother and the child, preventing one or both from even surviving being carried to term and the delivery process.

The pro-life advocate has created a narrative that the pro-choice community supports killing babies, which shockingly is not the case. When a woman gets pregnant and the situation she is in is out of her control (due to things like financial reasons or cases of rape), she can take a pill to stop the pregnancy before it has gotten very far. Also, a late-term abortion, though not ideal, is necessary to save lives in certain situations. An abortion is never a light decision or perfect option, but it is almost always a necessary option at the very least.

This above all else goes without saying: No rape survivor should ever be told what she has to do with her body in regards to what has happened to her.

On top of the physical health care services they provide, Planned Parenthood also advocates for young people to be knowledgeable about their sexual health, orientation, etc., instead of preaching “abstinence only.” Planned Parenthood provide countless resources on its website for teens to help them understand everything they are going through, and it provides information for parents to help them have supportive and non-judgmental conversations with their children.

Defunding Planned Parenthood would have disastrous effects on women all around the country. The amount of free or low-cost care they provide to millions of men and women a year would be deeply missed.

For more information about Planned Parenthood and the extensive list of services it provides, I encourage you to visit its website.