Opinion

Why pro-choice feminists should want Planned Parenthood to be defunded

Shamara Riley Contributor
Font Size:

There has been a lot of debate lately over whether Planned Parenthood should continue being underwritten by American taxpayers. Last week’s budget deal negotiations even stalled over its $360-million-a-year federal subsidy, which comprises 34 percent of its annual budget.

While pro-life activists often argue that Planned Parenthood should be defunded, one rarely hears pro-choice feminist perspectives regarding why Planned Parenthood’s subsidy — de facto corporate welfare, given that Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar non-profit — should end. While I disagree with social conservatives about Planned Parenthood, they are correct that Planned Parenthood shouldn’t get federal funds. My issue is not with Planned Parenthood, but rather with government involvement in Planned Parenthood’s activities.

There are three key reasons why Planned Parenthood shouldn’t receive taxpayer subsidies. Defunding Planned Parenthood would only reduce our $1.3 trillion federal deficit by 0.024%. However, the fundamental question ought to be: is funding Planned Parenthood (or any other organization) the proper, constitutional role of the federal government? It is not.

Libertarian feminists believe in equal treatment for women, but we don’t believe that some people have the right to rifle through other people’s wallets to pay for their pet causes (even causes that we support). We believe that funding an organization such as Planned Parenthood properly belongs in the private sector.

Liberal feminists argue that the “general welfare” clause in Article I, Section VIII of our Constitution covers activities such as funding Planned Parenthood. However, James Madison, the principal author of the U.S. Constitution, stated that the “general welfare” clause is limited to the delineated powers specified in the Constitution.

Another reason why Planned Parenthood should be defunded is that strings come attached to government involvement. Federal subsidies come with reduced independence and more government oversight into Planned Parenthood’s affairs.

Lastly, too many pro-choice advocates push responsibility for life choices from individuals to America as a whole. It needs to return to individuals, where it belongs. We pro-choice advocates can’t simultaneously say that government has no business getting involved in a woman’s reproductive health choices (right to privacy) and demand that everyone pay for said choices (government handouts). It’s contradictory, and undermines our moral high ground on reproductive health issues.

Millions of American taxpayers shouldn’t be compelled to have their hard-earned money used to pay for things that they morally oppose (for the record, I favor a choice-based taxation system so anti-military liberals also wouldn’t have to fund this activity if they so choose).

I can hear other pro-choice supporters saying right now, “But how will needy women get their reproductive health care services? Women will die on America’s streets!” This is where the role of private charity comes into the picture. Just like charities that don’t rely upon government largesse to keep them afloat, Planned Parenthood would subsequently have to convince the American people of its value (and I agree that it has value) to encourage us to donate.

If we pro-choicers believe that reproductive health for needy women is an important issue, then we should pool our resources and fund it out of our own pockets. A recent Pew Research Center poll shows that 54 percent of Americans believe abortion should remain legal in most cases. While Planned Parenthood’s federal subsidy doesn’t fund abortions, this is a good proxy demonstrating that millions of Americans are potential donors to replace the defunding shortfall. Planned Parenthood currently receives $206 million a year in private donations. In fact, online donations to Planned Parenthood have already shot up 500 percent during this defunding brouhaha. Clearly, there is a willingness among the American people to privately fund Planned Parenthood because of its value.

Genuine pro-choice advocates favor both a woman’s right to choose and individual choice — not government confiscation — to decide whether to fund or not fund Planned Parenthood. It is high time that Planned Parenthood come off the taxpayers’ dime.

Shamara Riley is the founder of Booker Rising, a news site for black moderates and black conservatives (www.bookerrising.net).

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel