House Bans Funding For Planned Parenthood

Holly - posted on 03/11/2011

I admit, I am spoiled in this day and age... I'm gonna go turn the heater up to 70 now... my toes are cold :)



::note sarcasm::

Tah - posted on 03/11/2011

You just have to have it all don't cha holly...tsk tsk....

Holly - posted on 03/11/2011

Well, my hubby *could* quit working and we *could* live in a crappy ass apartment where we all sleep on the floor and have no heating and air... but wait, then someone would call CPS on me and call me a bad mother for putting my children in those living conditions... Damned if I do, damned if I don't I guess...



I'm going to go back to my opulent lifestyle with actual heating and plumbing now... oh wait, it's NOT opulent because I live in AMERICA, not some poor ass country where people live in grass huts... huh...

Jenny - posted on 03/11/2011

Ya and it wasn't my turn to wear the socks.



Your expectations for what people should have to go through in a first world country to be considered in hard times is simply stunning Kelly. It makes me think you do not care for people very much in which case we will never see eye to eye. You are very jaded.



When people are living in good conditions they are able to contribute more back to society. It does us no favours to expect people to live in cars in the streets. In North America our streets are for transportation. We have people who own mulitple 10,000 sq.ft+ homes. We have MORE than enough resources in our countries to provide a good standard of living for EVERY citizen.

Kelly - posted on 03/11/2011

wait....your mom slept on a hida-a-bed in your APARTMENT?? That's not a poor standard of living, I would define that as pretty privileged.
I'm sorry, but I cannot fathom how you think living in an apartment with heat, and electricity, probably running water, is a "poor standard of living".

I think that is a very acceptable standard of living, and I don't see it as "suffering" at all. There are medical resources available to the poor aside from PP, that is the only point I am trying to make. All of you are complaining about how it is too difficult to go to a clinic, but the fact remains that you can still get the services there. Or that you have to be "dreadfully poor" to get financial help, and that is simply not the case. I know people living in furnished apartments with all the amenities, driving cars, and wearing new clothes that still get aid to help them make ends meet and get medial care. They are exactly the people you all are describing that apparently get no help at all, yet somehow, they are, in fact, getting help.

Holly - posted on 03/10/2011

Exactly Jenny and Johnny!!! Thank you!

Johnny - posted on 03/10/2011

All will be better with America when the standard of living for the average person is down to third world levels and they can no longer demand or request any help from the deserving rich?



A family with children and working parents deserve to be paid a wage that allows them to live comfortably. None of us need to live ostentatiously, but we all have the right to good health care, safe living situations, proper nutrition and other comforts. Why should such a family have to cram themselves into a tiny apartment and give up any comforts? Should they not just be able to make a reasonable wage, get reasonable benefits, medical care and such? I can not believe that people still think that the poor must suffer in this day and age. We aren't talking about people too lazy to work or to attempt to improve their lot, we are talking about your average fellow hard-working citizens.

Jenny - posted on 03/10/2011

Kelly what is your deal with people racing to the bottom? I lived poor. My mom slept on a hidebed in our apartment's living room for 8 years. We ate fried bologna for dinner. So what's your point? Everyone should have a low standard of living like we did? Why?



America is NOT BROKE, there is no need for ANY family to not have a comfortable standard of living. You are a first world country, act like it.

Kelly - posted on 03/10/2011

We can play the numbers game it you want to, though it has nothing to do with the availability of services offered by PP. $2700/month is not "dreadfully poor"

If your husband makes that much and you say you need $3000/month, you are not just poor, you are living beyond your means.



Cost of living around you sounds about the same as my area, about $1200-$2000/month for a 3 bedroom apt. but you can rent a very nice one room flat with a private bath and kitchen for less than $400/month, and if you are willing to use a communal kitchen &/or bath, the rent drops even lower. Single room flats here are usually 400+ sqft. I shared one with 4 girls, 2 with kids, for a few months when I was a teen. There were 7 of us too, so your family would fit. That would cut about $700 off your budget right there. Not willing to do that are you? Why not? Most of the "poor" people I run into who are living in luxurious apartments with separate bedrooms, full kitchens, and even 2 bathrooms in some cases, are not poor.



I grew up "poor" and I know most of you know it, but I am getting so tired of people thinking "oh, I'm so poor!" when they don't even know what poor is--we lived in an abandoned RV that had the engine part ripped off, and positioned the hood of a car and some blankets there for a make-shift wall. Our food was donated, pasta or soup; Never meat. We had 3 out fits each, and a dress--all donated. My parents slept on a used mattress found in the trash, my sister and I shared the bench seat stripped from the same car we took the hood from. We more than met the income requirements for welfare programs, but we did not have an address and that disqualified us (I think that has changed for most programs, but i know you still have to have an address for food stamps and medicaid, but it's easier to get into govt. housing now). The govt. funded apartments were too dangerous for us and they didn't just give people $$ to pay rent with back then, you had to live in a govt property.





And $2.5k a month in a plush apartment with laundry soap & access to a lauder shop, or perhaps your own electric washer, and multiple outfits, computer access, I bet you even have a TV--I was 22years old when I got my first one. That's not poor. That's living above your means. Obviously, I don't think anyone should have to live the way I did growing up, but I don't think people who have so many luxuries should complain about not being able to afford their "needs"

Holly - posted on 03/10/2011

We're lucky that we have a family friend who own our house and rents it to us for $1200 a month. We live in a really nice area and the average rent for our same floorplan (3 bedrooms) is $1600 per month... If we were to try to find someplace the same size for the same price we would be in the ghetto and we would have to either pay for private school or I would be homeschooling!

Isobel - posted on 03/10/2011

where I live, to get a reasonable 3 bedroom apartment (my assumption for the smallest space possible for 5) would cost AT LEAST 1500/month...in a crappy neighbourhood...trying to pay for food, clothes, utilities and transportation out of what's left?

wow...yeah, sure lots of working class people qualify for medicaid.

Holly - posted on 03/10/2011

Wait, I just looked it up and it's $2,794 before taxes... my bad, but STILL a crazy low number...



http://www.foodstampguide.org/gross-and-...



(scroll down to almost the bottom of the page and there's a handy chart)



edited to add: I just looked at our budget and we need to be making at least $3000 a month to stay on our feet and be able to put anything away for taxes (paid quarterly) and to put away for our emergency fund... and that's including a lot of the spending cuts we've made already. So basically we're screwed...

Isobel - posted on 03/10/2011

If that's the cut off for a family of five...my former statement about the poor stands.

Holly - posted on 03/10/2011

So because the goverment taxes the shit out of my hubby and myself and I STILL give money to PP (when the majority of people there don't give a damn thing) I'm somehow a selfish person? Huh... I fail to see that logic... My hubby makes too much to qualify our family for welfare (because the cut-off for a family of 5 is $2500 monthly - BEFORE taxes) so I HAVE to use PP for my gyno services. I feel proud that I give ANY money to them, even if giving that money makes my budget a little tight. If my hubby and I ever have more money you can bet we'll be donating to PP because of all the help they've given me in the past (including birth coltrol, counseling for PPD and my annual exams). Until we strike it rich though, I give what I can and I feel damn proud to do that.

Also, as a small side note, the clinic I go to has an ALL volunteer staff. None of them get paid for their time there, so in reality a $200 procedure at a regular gyno's office really is not nearly that expensive at my local PP (I can't speak for other locations, but I know this is something my local one is very proud of).

Kelly - posted on 03/09/2011

I forgot to say something:
Our system does not only help the "dreadfully poor" and I don't know where you get that idea. I know several people who are on Medicaid who most certainly are NOT "dreadfully poor." You can make THOUSANDS of dollars a year and still get medical assistance. These families shop at the mall, they drive cars, they buy groceries in stores, they live in 2 and 3 bedroom apartments with electricity, running water, and central heating and air--that is not the life of a "dreadfully poor" person. Yes, they may have to clip coupons and drive older cars, but they are not "dreadfully poor" and they still get assistance--our system is there for them, with OR without PP.

Kelly - posted on 03/09/2011

I never said the only reason I support universal healthcare is because it would serve me. I support universal healthcare because it would serve EVERYONE. Something PP does NOT do. It is impossible to argue this with you because you do not have a full understanding of our healthcare system and the options available to our citizens.

The facts remain, that the services PP provides are available elsewhere, funding is available elsewhere for PP, and they did not properly keep records. Why is it such a big deal they lost their funding? It's NOT a big deal, all it means is that the people who used to go to PP will now have to go to a clinic. And as I've already stated twice, there are several ways for them to get there if they don't drive, although most of them are already driving to PP, so it's just a few more minutes in their car.

Isobel - posted on 03/09/2011

ONLY the dreadfully poor! NOT the normal people who are just having a hell of a time paying their bills because their wages have remained flat while inflation continues to grow!

Your system takes care of the rich and the poor...that's it, that's all...places like PP fill in the gaps. Removing any funding for them is ensuring that the working poor and the lower middle class still have SOMEWHERE to go to make sure that a) they don't have babies they can't afford (birth control) b) that they don't die or go crazy from curable STDs and c) that when they do have babies, those babies can be born healthy instead of with no pre-natal care.

I know you SAY that a universal system would be good...but that's only because it would serve YOU...I simply don't understand not caring about what happens to other people because they can't afford care.

Kelly - posted on 03/09/2011

Laura, In one of my earliest posts I said that our system was not as good as a Universal Healthcare system. I don't understand why you think I'm against that--I'm NOT and I feel I stated that clearly. I don't mind that my taxes go towards paying for someone else's healthcare, I've said that THREE times, and am beginning to feel like a broken record.

All I am trying to say is that it is a FACT that there are other places for the poor to receive all of the services that PP offers. They can get their birth control there if you are so worried about their babies.
It is a FACT that federal funding is not the only funding PP receives. If people care so deeply about it, they can find funding elsewhere--if they cannot donate themselves, they can volunteer to organize fundraisers, or work them if they do not have management skills.
It is a FACT that they lost funding due to improper record keeping. If they needed that money so much, they would have followed the rules.

Furthermore, If you get sick in the US and you truly do not have the money to pay for care, you qualify for Medicaid and/or the supplemental, low-cost state insurance. You can also go to any free clinic, most states are required to have one in every county. You don't "get sick and die" there are resources here for EVERYONE with the exception of the upper-middle class who have preexisting conditions and no access to group insurance (which cannot be denied based on that). And PP doesn't help them anyway because they can usually afford to pay out of pocket for the services PP offers, it's the catastrophic illnesses that get them.

Johnny - posted on 03/08/2011

Kelly, that's just the problem. Not everyone has the means to "step up" and do something about it. I know that you think that everyone is capable of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, but the world doesn't really actually work like that. I suppose because some people are less likely to succeed than others we should just take actions that lead to those people having more kids? That makes no social, cultural or fiscal sense at all.

If you are so deeply concerned about where your precious tax dollars are going, you might want to think about how many unwanted and uncared for children will be born every year simply because PP will not be there to help women conveniently avoid pregnancy. You are right, many people may well be too "lazy" to pay $20 to take an hour long cab ride (wow, the cabs are cheap where you live!) and get birth control. I'm not sure why you would want "cheap" and "lazy" people to have babies? Also, if you're concerned about how your tax dollars are being used, you might also want to put in a call to AIG.

By the way, telling someone to "stop being so conceited and entitled" would probably considered an attack by most.

Isobel - posted on 03/08/2011

well...I guess I should have been honest and said if you're lucky enough to have a home and a car, you sell those to pay your bill...then if you're still not better...THEN you get to die.

Isobel - posted on 03/08/2011

You know what's interesting? We all pay taxes through the nose for our universal health care...but I don't think anybody would vote for somebody who said they would lower taxes by getting rid of it.

I guess it's something an American can never really understand...I tried to explain to my daughter the other day that in America you have to pay to go to the doctor...she was horrified "what if you get sick and you don't have enough money?" she asked. Well then they let you get sick and die.

There's just something ENTIRELY wrong with that.

Kelly - posted on 03/08/2011

Johnny, I didn't miss the part about the taxes. My exact words were: "Yes, your taxes and donations help fund the clinics..." and I never said they should not help fund these things, but the fact remains that there are other federally funded places to go for all of the services PP offers, if people are willing to make an effort to use them.

Furthermore, I am not "attacking" anyone. Never said that she, and the poor, and PP should not be helped at all, I said they should not demand more and more for nothing in return and little to no efforts on their part after so many people have given so much to help them.

Thirdly, you are right, people rarely do pay in proportion to what they use--some people are required to pay much, much, more than they use so that others can pay much, much less than they use. That in itself is fine, it equalizes and I have nothing against it, but it is not an excuse for those who pay less to demand more from those who pay more. If they want something better than what is required, step up and do something about it.

Johnny - posted on 03/08/2011

I think you missed the part about the taxes. PP was tax-payer funded. Thus all taxpayers, including Holly, helped to pay for the services.

Do you feel the same about all government services? Roads? Schools? Subsidized grains? Military security? Not everyone uses, needs, or even wants every single service provided by the government. Where I live, some of my taxes go into subsidizing the development of the oil sands which I am opposed to and which make large corporations and their shareholders very wealthy. Taxes in both our countries have gone to fund bailouts of large companies and banks which have gone on to make their shareholders even wealthier. Your attacks on Holly, the poor and planned parenthood are looking at such a small portion of the whole picture. Most citizens of developed countries do not pay directly in proportion to their actual use of most services. The government is in all the money, trying to decide where it is needed or wanted the most, and then applying it there. It is supposed to be servicing, enriching, increasing the happiness, health and welfare of the citizens, but in many cases it just ends up in the pockets of the wealthy. Those that can't even afford to go to a doctor yet whom are still paying taxes are actually just getting the scrapings off the bottom.

So, would you like a personal letter of appreciation from Holly for all you've done to support her, or can she just say thanks here??? *extreme sarcasm*

Johnny - posted on 03/08/2011

I wonder when the banks are going to start showing that oh so important sense of responsibility when dealing with the tax payer funded "charity" that they've been given.

It's funny how all the responsibility gets placed on the people with the least actual power in society.

Kelly - posted on 03/08/2011

But along with rights, comes responsibility.

These people need to take some of that along with their charity.

Holly - posted on 03/08/2011

Jenny - When the hell are you taking over?!?! It can't be fast enough!!! Stupid politicians... Ugh...

Holly - posted on 03/08/2011

"To me, what it comes down to are those who care enough to help others (without question) and those who don't."

PERFECTLY said Dana!

As for the whole "you're not paying for it so don't complain" argument, yes we DO pay for it. Where do you think the federal money comes from? TAXES! I pay my taxes every year (hubby's self employed so they take a big chunk out of us every year...), so I feel I am entitled to receive FREE care from a government funded clinic. Also, when you check in they ask if you are going to be able to make a donation for your services. I have only said no once, and it was because I had forgotten to grab the cash when I left the house. I ALWAYS give what I can (usually around $20-$30) and I feel that if MY helping may help others, then why the hell not?

I guess I'm just one of those people that likes to help people who can't help themselves though...

Jenny - posted on 03/08/2011

Access to reproductive services is not a gift in a civilised society, it is an essential service. Birth control is not just for those who can afford it. Are we ok with people who can't afford birth control having kids and getting STD's instead because that is what happens when they have to jump through hoops to get what they need. People are so goddamn shortsighted.



When I'm dictator there will be a birth control vending machines on every block. Take all the condoms, I don't care. Just don't make any babies society can't deal with because you can't either.

Dana - posted on 03/08/2011

Exactly, Tah.

I also went to PP when I was in my early 20's and it was based on my income. Having no insurance and not making enough money to pay for a regular doctor's visit + birth control made it a blessing for me to have access to it. Almost every other visit I paid extra because I was so grateful for help and I wanted to give back more than was expected of me.

To me, what it comes down to are those who care enough to help others (without question) and those who don't. And I mean no offense to anyone with my comment.

Tah - posted on 03/08/2011

so my nephews car was totaled in an accident a few months ago. until he got everything straight, he needed rides to work, if we couldn't take him then he would call a cab. he paid a little over 20 dollars both ways. His job is 12 minutes away, imagine if it were an hour. i literally counted before while taking him, when i pulled out the parking lot it was 12:00 i got him there by 12:12 via highway, i still made it to school around the corner by 12:25. the ride was always the same on time maybe longer if i stopped for gas and a fat free latte at wawa on the way. Imagine if someone was catching a ride to a clinic an hour away. I can't just base what others have access to by what I have access to. we live different places with different laws, transit systems, funding etc. I get the being grateful for what you have. There were people at the free clinic who work and pay taxes like almost everyone else, heck i have seen them there in uniforms or heard them calling work to let them know they would be late and babysitters to say the same. SOme of them are just as well working poor. I only went there really for services i didn't want my mom to know about when i was under her insurance. I had to do externships at some and have accompanied friends to others. I do think it is a good service that is provided free or almost free of charge and people should appreciate it. i also understand that not everything works the same way everywhere for everyone and I take that into consideration as well.



people have family and neighbors sometimes who are in the same boat or sometimes worse off then they are. I can't assume auntie can take them. Or that she is willing. I am an advocate of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and always saying thank you, but i also understand that there are many things there to knock you back down.

Kelly - posted on 03/08/2011

Around here, you can get a cab to a clinic, even one an hour away for $20. I brought up time because not being able to afford $20 is not a sufficient "excuse". There are still free rides from churches, there are still free rides from neighbors, friends, family, IF they are willing to make the effort to arrange the ride.

I don't care whether they are "lazy" or not, and I never said they were, I said they had to put forth at least a small effort to receive their free care, it cannot be handed to them on a silver plater, there simply is not funding for it. It has nothing to do with being "lazy" and I'm not sure how you got that from my post. It has everything to do with the fact that they feel entitled to demand the clinic they are not paying for to wait on them hand and foot. The mentality that "It's not my job to find a way to get to the clinic, it's the clinic's job to come to me." The clinic that is being funded FOR them by other people, as a gift.

Dana - posted on 03/08/2011

Kelly, we're talking about people who can't afford to pay for a cab. And I imagine a cab to the next "local" clinic would be more than $20 one way too.

And yes, my husband drives almost an hour to work also but, we can afford to do that. Whether you or I can afford to drive an hour away has no relevant fact to this issue.



So, it's not about their "time" it's about money. But, since you've brought their "time" into it, it leads me to think you're blowing it off as them being lazy, not that they can't afford it.

Kelly - posted on 03/08/2011

Dana where do you live? Why can't you take a cab? Even the rural areas in my state have cab service, you have to call and wait for them to come out, but it's there. And if they are getting Free medical care, you'd think they could make the effort to scrape together $20 for a cab fair, get a ride from a neighbor or friend, call a church for a ride (all the churches in my area will arrange for someone to drive you to the doctor whether you're a member or not). It's a ONE hour drive? My husband drives longer than that to get to work, you would think someone receiving a service that costs several hundred dollars for free could spare 2 hours of their time to get to the clinic.



You have to be willing to put forth at least a tiny effort...

Dana - posted on 03/08/2011

And so we're back to the point that just because there are other free clinics in each state, it doesn't mean they are easily accessible. As in my case, the only free clinic is PP, everything else is at least an hour drive away. There are tons of people who don't own cars that can't get to those other locations.



And those free clinics will be over run more so than they already are.

Kelly - posted on 03/08/2011

You're still paying for education, you are just paying for it whether you use it or not. Here, you don't have to pay for private colleges unless you go to them or are paying, by choice, for someone else to attend. We have state funded colleges too, just like we have free clinics, but if you want a private college, you pay for it, just like if you want to get your health care from a private physician.



As for PP, they have other sponsors aside from the government who can step up and keep them open if they wish. They did not follow proper record keeping protocol and that cost them their federal funding. That was their own fault, and one I have not even brought up until now, but it is a prime example: The government gave them funding and all that was asked was they follow proper record keeping protocol to account for the money. That was apparently too much effort to put forth for the millions of dollars they received. There ARE free clinics in every state. If people don't want to use them, that is their choice, but they have no right to demand more and more and more while giving nothing in return. If people want to keep PP open, they can donate and help pay the bills. If they are not willing to do that, PP will close.

Isobel - posted on 03/08/2011

yeah...our education system is pretty well subsidized as well so...I guess I'll just never understand defending the right to have to pay through the nose for everything...but that's a different topic...back to pp

Kelly - posted on 03/08/2011

I knew it was a joke :) My statement that I didn't want to was a Joke too....I'm sure Canada is actually a pretty awesome place to live, even if it is cold ;)

I guess I just don't see it as ridiculous to have to pay for things we need and want. These things do cost money--we have to pay doctors, they can't do it for free; we have to pay colleges, teachers can't teach for free, even if they could, the supplies are not free--even if people would make them for free, they'd have to pay for the materials to make stuff with. Nothing is free. It is unfortunate, but true, and it is unfair to ask only some of the people to foot the bill for all of the people.
Fortunately, we do have people who are willing to foot the bill for those who cannot, but they should not be forced to do it. And they should not be disrespected for doing so--when someone pays a few thousand dollars to pay for a clinic they don't use so that the poor can use it, it would be nice to get a "Thank you" instead of a "We need more than that" occasionally.

Isobel - posted on 03/08/2011

I'm not saying you should move to Canada...that was a joke...my point was that NOBODY should have to pay so much for medical care that they can't afford a home OR an education...that's (IMHO) ridiculous.

Kelly - posted on 03/08/2011

I didn't want to live in Canada, Laura. It is too cold there and my family is here. There is nothing wrong with buying a car instead of an apartment. It is still a HUGE step up from homeless, so I don't get why choosing college over an apartment makes me a bad person. If people lived in their cars instead of apartments they could drive to the clinic. I'm not saying people should have to live in their cars, I don't think they should, but if the choices they make lead them to having to do so, they should not be complaining about all the stuff they cannot afford and be grateful for the charity people give to them. I had to live in my car because of the choices *I* made--I take responsibility for that, others should do.

Remember that a free clinic is a gift, it's a charity. It is something paid for by someone else, so that people who cannot afford their own medical treatment can get it, and yet people receiving care at these places act like they are "owed" this care and then complain that it is not good enough. It's a gift. Be happy with what you get, and if you want something better, buy it yourself. I cannot believe how entitled this generation is.

When I was homeless and people gave me food, I ate it whether it was good or not, AND I said "Thank you" and offered to do work for them. That is not what is happening here, and it should be.

Tah - posted on 03/07/2011

There is a difference in the accessibility of cliincs. I'm from phiilly and there were free clinics in the neighborhood, some you could hardly stand to be in and would rather find a cure in the weeds in your backyard then go to, but they were there. They required everything but your bra size to see you to prove you couldn't afford it. The nearest PP was downtown and very nice. Your wait was less and they offered more services, sometimes at the free clinic they would send you to PP for certain birth controls etc. Here in Va they have PICH clinics.



sidebar for the working poor: My sister is a PT nurse with a child in college, a 14 and a 9 year old and husband who quit his job to have a midlife crisis. The sliding scale clinic says she makes too much and needs to pay almost the full amount. My neice broke her arm and my sister had to pay over 100 dollars for the first visit and make payment arrangements for the cast as well as pay another 150 to have it taken off so she had to wear the cast an extra week until my sister was paid again. My sister has diabetes and between her office visit,meds and labs, she spent 500 in a month. She is working poor because she can't take a full time 3-11 or 11-7 because that would leave the girls alone all day, or overnight. Insurance where we work is crazy high and over 200 dollars per pay period when she is only guaranteed 4 days a pay period, overtime is never promised though she takes it when she can to make ends meet. social service won't help her because she makes too much for services but not enough to really live. she is taking the girls out of their karate and other activites this month etc. she does her visits at planned parenthood and would not be able to afford them anywhere else.



It really does depend on where you live and your circumstances. PP services are needed to supply people with services that they might not be able to receive other places for various reasons. money, location etc. I think it does us a great disservice to not have them funded.

Dana - posted on 03/07/2011

So poor people are supposed to what? Drive a few hours away in a car that they may or may not own to get to another free clinic? Sorry, that doesn't make sense at all.

Isobel - posted on 03/07/2011

OR you could've had an apartment and gone to college if you lived in Canada ;)

Kelly - posted on 03/07/2011

hmm..I'd forgotten about it too Laura. I didn't choose to live in my car to pay my medical bills, I lived in my car for 3 years to pay for collage. I was paying medical bills as well, but I could have afforded an apartment as well as paid the medical bills if I hadn't wanted to go to college. And even without the medical bills, I doubt I could have paid for both college and an apartment at the same time. I don't think people should have to live in their cars to pay for medical bills, but I don't think it is a huge sacrifice for college because college is a choice, getting sick is not really a choice in most cases.





Dana S, my numbers are not off for the working poor receiving Medicaid. I said in my post that the numbers vary by state depending on cost of living. I am certainly not going to research all 50 states and post the information, so I chose an average based on the National poverty level (which is an average spread over the entire US).



I am not sure what state you live in, but as far as I know, all states have federally funded free healthcare clinics.

Isobel - posted on 03/07/2011

Sorry, I almost forgot about this thread...what happens to all the people who have a household income between 40 and 60 thousand a year who STILL can't afford the thousand dollars a month it costs for insurance?

and yeah, like Dana just said...in many communities pp is the ONLY place that provides these services to women who desperately need them.

I know you were willing to live in a car to pay your medical bills...I (being Canadian) have a HUGE problem with expecting people to become homeless in order to give birth to a healthy child.

I don't believe that's a choice anybody should have to make.

Dana - posted on 03/07/2011

You can see how these things happen by reading right here in this thread. Kelly states that you can get those services done at any free clinic. Well, where I live, PP is the only free clinic. So you just can't assume that people will be able to go some where else.

And Kelly your numbers are off on the "working poor" who can get medicaid. I would imagine, again, it all depends on where you live.

Corena - posted on 03/07/2011

@johnny

No, actually I am referring to the majority of Pro Life organizations that do actually have many measures in place to help women who need help, not the small percentage of dishonest ones that the media chooses to focus on.

Corena - posted on 03/07/2011

@ pansy



That would be why I said it was a side note...because I knew it was a little off topic. ;)

Holly - posted on 03/05/2011

I don't know where you live, but there is only one other clinic in my town (a fairly large city) that offers free women's services (based on income), and they don't offer nearly as many services as PP.



Medi-Cal (California's welfare insurance program) only pays for services from your primary physician, or PP (they DO NOT cover services at the other clinic in town) AND you can only make $2500 per month (BEFORE taxes) for a family of 5 to qualify for welfare (that's what my hubby and I were told when we tried to sign up). Can someone making $2,600 pay for their own insurance? I highly doubt it... Also, anyone who has ever made a mistake when they were younger and got a felony can NEVER get any welfare services (even if they volunteer for drug testing and such). I know a woman who at age 18 got caught with 2 ounces of marijuana and got 3 YEARS in prison and a felony on her record. Now, 30 years later, even though she's been living a clean, good life since she doesn't qualify for any welfare programs because of a mistake made when she was young. She depends on PP for her female services because they are the only clinic willing to work with her (even the other clinic in town treated her with disrespect becase she had to tell them why she didn't qulaify for welfare) and if that were taken away she would be doubly screwed over.



PP offers a great service and to defund them would have a large negative impact on society (at least where I live).

Kelly - posted on 03/04/2011

Yes, they still qualify if they make less than a certain amount. It varies by state due to cost of living variance, but the National Poverty level is at $26k for a family of 4, and Medicaid is provided to families making up to 150% (I'm not positive on that number--it has been changing a lot) of that, or just over $39k annually. The income would obviously vary depending on the size of the family, but most truly "working poor" qualify.

Those who are poor simply because they live beyond their means will not qualify, but they can still go to free clinics which are open to everyone. We also have govt. run clinics (in my state) that have people pay on a sliding scale based on income, so even if it is not free, the cost is still very low. Those facilities provide both general and feminine care.

Isobel - posted on 03/04/2011

the working poor don't qualify for medicaid, do they?