A Research Study to Determine if the GOP’s Argument to
Defund Planned Parenthood is Creditable

By

Nathaniel A. Payne

Submitted to the Faculty of
Brandman University
In partial fulfillment of the requirement for
HRCU 630 Conflict & Negotiation

03 April 2016 Introduction
The Grand Ole Parties’ (GOP) argument to defund Planned Parenthood is not creditable because of one particular reason; Planned Parenthood is not using government funds to conduct abortion. These are the term in which the legislation was written and passed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Planned Parenthood receives public funds to provide comprehensive reproductive and complementary health care services and ensure access to such services to provide educational programs which enhance understanding of individual and societal implications of human sexuality to promote research and the advancement of technology in reproductive health care and encourage understanding of their inherent bioethical, behavioral, and social implications (Planned Parenthood, 2014). Now the GOP wish to change legislation and deny Planned Parenthood public fund because now the Party wish to argue that no organization should receive public fund that conducts abortions for any program it does. All people have the right to make decisions for them-selves. To be able to make informed choices people need education and resources (Lottes, 2013). First and foremost this is not attracting the Republican Party nor is it a Demarcate verses Republican bipartisan debate. This is a study of the merits of an argument impose by one entity to another to deny future operational funding. 3 percent of Planned Parenthood services are abortions and yes, it is a larger share of Planned Parenthoods revenue only because abortion services are really expensive and to point out that these services are paid by the patient. Public funds given to Planned Parenthood and its partners are used to provide about 4 million tests and treatments related to sexually transmitted diseases, over 500 thousand breast exams, 3 million birth control services, and about 1 million pregnancy test each year. This does not include the educational class it provides to teens and young adults.
GOP’s Argument
During the hearings that the Republican members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee lunched against Planned Parenthood Republicans criticized Planned Parenthood saying that the organizations receives most of its revenue from public funds and that the tax payer is providing over 40 percent of Planned Parenthoods income.
The Rebuttal
The use of this argument to defund Planned Parenthood does not hold water. As the legislation or U.S. law is written, federal funds cannot be used for abortions unless the pregnancy threatens the life of the expecting mother or in the case of rape or incest. So if Planned Parenthood is getting 40 percent of income from taxpayers, this means it’s not coming from abortion but from other services they provide. Argument after argument Planned Parenthood has defended itself with the law being on their side.
Why doesn’t the Republican Party see that their arguments have no merit? It’s because the Republicans are negotiating theory and emotion. “The bigger the transaction, the more important it is to identify core interest, walkaway options, and assess how other parties see their choices (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 2015). The problem is the Republicans have done none of this, they started a hail storm with conservative and made defunding Planned Parenthood a political issue and have no way of taking it off the table without making it a lose/win situation with Planned Parenthood being the victor. The worse of all this is “the ramifications of their political differences, the impacts of their public comments, and the innuendo of their private asides not only resonate with the messiest battles associated with divorce but also symbolize larger sociopolitical impacts on women, illustrating how women’s bodies can serve as material tools for various political groups” (Young & Wright, 2015).
My Argument
Here is an argument as to why Planned Parenthood should remain funded. It’s good for the economy. When people have access to family planning it creates a clime in income levels and family planning reduces poverty because families are not living above their means which reduces the amount of families on state assistance. “Medicaid and Title X provide critical reproductive health care and family planning services to low-income women and families throughout America. Medicaid is the largest single public funding source for family planning services” (Zoppo, 2012). Defunding this Planned Parenthood throws many American who can’t afford to go to a major hospital or private physician for basic health care services under the bus.
The members of the Republican Party that support defunding Planned Parenthood is underestimating the benefit of services this organization provides to the private and public.
The benefit to women that most GOP members fail to see or refuse to see is the positive impact of these reproductive health care centers provide. Due to being able to receive contraceptive service from a government funded clinic a high percentage of women were able to take better care of themselves and their family. Because women have a choice they were able to retain employment, seek higher positions or stay in school. Also because women have the capability to control family size the chance of living in poverty is much lower. No matter what side of the abortion argument a person is on, we must all agree that if you defund Planned Parenthood and low income women in this country are not able to receive contraceptive service there will be more unplanned pregnancies and more abortions. There is a consensus within the GOP that this conflict with Planned Parenthood needs to be resolve prior to the 2016 Presidential Election because it has begun to look like GOP verses women’s rights.
Strategies & Resolutions
There are a few strategies one might use to resolve a conflict like this such as Reconciling Interest. “Interest is needs, desires, concerns, fears. The things one cares about or want” (Lewicki, et al. 2015). Because the GOP does not want to lose face they can ask for concessions as more transparency of the organization and accounting of public funds to ensure funds are not being used toward abortion services. Another strategy to resolve this dispute is Determining Who Is Right: “to rely on some independent standard with perceived legitimacy or fairness to determine who is right” (Lewicki, et al. 2015). The two entities must look outside each organization and find a private research company that does not have ties to either organization.
This company will work as an arbitrator, study the facts and make logical and justifiable decisions based solely on the standing law written by both houses and operating statements obtained from Planned Parenthood. The decision is final and let the cards fall where they may.
Conclusion
As of now I see no side winning this argument because each side refuses to adopt a negotiation strategy. They refuse to accommodate because this would be a lose/win, compromise and split the different is off the table because there is too much to lose, avoiding the situation could work for Planned Parenthood but not the GOP because they have to answer to their conservative constituents that will continue fighting the good fight without collaborating with the enemy. The only strategy for either side at this juncture is to remain competitive; win at all cost.
References
Lewicki, R. J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D. M. (2015) (7th Ed) Negotiation: Reading, Exercises, and Cases. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Lottes, I. L. (2013). Sexual Rights: Meanings, Controversies, and Sexual Health Promotion. Journal of Sex Research, 50(3/4), 367-391. doi:10.1080/00224499.2013.764380
Planned Parenthood Mission Statement. (2014). https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/mission
Young, A. M., & Wright, J. L. (2015). The Anatomy of a Divorce: Women's Studies in Communication, 38(2), 146-150. doi:10.1080/07491409.2015.1034631
Zoppo, D. (2012). The War on Women: Federal Remedies to Fight Back Against States that De-fund Planned Parenthood: Vermont Law Review, 37(2), 495-525.