The cost of defunding Planned Parenthood (PP) would devastate the health and livelihood of millions of women.

Read that again.

Anti-abortion politicians and extremists are spreading misinformation about PP, and they're threatening to introduce legislation that would defund the organization entirely. This is a HUGE issue, and here's why.

First and foremost, PP does NOT solely exist to conduct abortions. They don't sit around anticipating the next time they get to kill a fetus. Yes, that is a service they offer, but I will bet not one PP staff member takes pleasure in doing it. That's not what being pro choice is about (i.e. pro choice does not equal pro abortion). It's simply the idea that a woman shouldn't have to carry a live human child inside of her own body for 9 months and then go through the pain of pushing it out a teeny tiny hole if she doesn't want to or isn't capable of doing so safely.

Side note: PP is one of the only health care organizations that offers safe and private abortion services. Taking away women's access to that absolutely does not guarantee that women will automatically refrain from having abortions. It will only lead to women having to resort to much more dangerous, potentially life-threatening scenarios. (Think back to your history classes when you learned about prohibition in the 20s and 30s. Alcohol was completely banned, but did people just not drink? Nah. They purchased it illegally and partied on.)

You get the idea. If any of this has been included in your perception of PP, please continue reading and hear me out.

Regardless of your stance on abortions, there should be no reason to hate on PP. For years, PP has offered millions of patients access to healthcare services such as birth control, STI testing and treatment, Pap tests, sexual education, and breast exams. Additionally, with the release of their new mobile app, young girls are able to "text" a health care professional discreetly if they have no one else they can comfortably turn to to ask questions about their changing bodies. I think that's incredible.

With that in mind, here are some additional facts: Nearly one third of all women who rely on publicly funded birth control live in countries where PP is the primary provider. Over half of PP's healthcare centers are in rural and underserved communities. And six in ten women who access services from a family planning health care center like PP consider it their main source of health care.

Now, many people are under the impression that other healthcare providers will just absorb PP patients if the organization is shut down. That is ludicrous. There's no way other healthcare providers would be able to successfully pick up 2 million patients worth of slack. We just don't have enough reproductive healthcare providers to safely ensure that.

So, those who are seeking to defund the organization are actively wanting to block people who depend on public healthcare programs, such as Medicaid and Title X, from accessing preventative care through PP. Shutting down PP means millions of patients would lose their preferred provider, and many would have nowhere else to turn for care.