Everyone is in quite a little snit

over Planned Parenthood of Indiana's gift certificate program. I'll admit, when I first heard this was for real, my initial thoughts were, "wow, that's totally fucking weird." But in reading various blog posts/comments about it (like the charming ones on the Washington Times article, above), I decidedthat it's actually not so weird, but that the response to it, sadly, is perpetuating the same tired falsehood anti-choice talking points about planned parenthood...namely:
1) That it is a profit-focused business.
2) That Planned Parenthood primarily performs abortions.
3) That abortions constitute the main source of its profit.

First and foremost, when are people going to understand that Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization? Say what you will about it "dealing in the business of death" and "taking money hand over fist," but the truth is that PP aims to provide health care to people who need it, and cover its overhead. That's it. PP's corporate figures are not eccentric CEO billionaires. In fact, the full-time employees I've spoken to all say that while the money isn't fantastic, the biggest benefit is the excellent health care plan. Have you ever heard of a profit-oriented company using a sliding scale for payment of services?

On the subject of birth certificates, of course something like this is going to get people whipped into a frenzy of moral righteousness. But I think it makes a lot of sense. It's weird to think about giving someone a gift certificate for an abortion, most definitely, but that's not what this is. Intended as a gift for someone who is uninsured and may have moved health care down on their list of priorities, the certificates are $25-- just about perfect for a month of birth control. I don't think there are a lot of pregnant women who are just $25 short of a $500+ abortion procedure.

All of that said, I can understand the incongruity between Planned Parenthood, an organization which provides contraception and abortion services, and a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of all the staunchly Christian anti-choice advocates. But I like this idea, in a country where so many people are uninsured, and so many women neglect essential health stuff.