The article I found was a foxnews.com article by Hollie McKay titled “Stars Bemoan Plans to Cut Planned Parenthood Funding”. This article focused on the debate over funding for Planned Parenthood and the response of celebrities. The article talked about the House of Representatives passing a bill to cut millions in federal funding for women's health care centers. This bill has enraged many people including many Hollywood movie stars. Some of the Hollywood stars speaking out include Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Bilson, Gabrielle Union, Julianne Moore, Dana Delany, Amber Tamblyn, David Eigenberg, Alan Cummings, and Jason Alexander.
Even 17-year-old teen sensation and “iCarly” starlet Miranda Cosgrove is not happy with the situation. Former American Idol judge also shared her opinion about the proposed cuts. “I don’t think it’s a good thing to cut those budgets. It’s hard because we are going through a tough time economically, and sometimes they cut money from things that we really need to keep”. Scarlett Johansson was also very outspoken regarding this bill. "The House passed a bill to eliminate our country's family planning program and to stop Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving any federal money to provide life-saving preventative care. That means no money for cervical cancer screenings and breast exams. No money for testing and treatment of STDs, not even testing for HIV. No money for birth control… For many people, especially those with low incomes, Planned Parenthood is their only source of health care.” Quite frankly, I am getting really tired of hearing the opinions of famous people. Just because celebrities have a voice in public doesn’t mean they have any real knowledge of politics. It is hard enduring democratic politicians, now we have to endure the opinions of democrats that have little to no knowledge about the government and policies. A homeless person asking for money on the street is probably just as credible as any of these celebrities. It is great that these celebrities are speaking up for what they believe in, but why does it really matter? I’m sure that Planned Parenthood does do some good things, but I have also seen a lot of the bad things that Planned Parenthood does as well.
Recently I have seen many undercover videos that were filmed of different facilities. In more than one of these undercover videos filmed by a pro-life group called Live Action, Planned Parenthood employees are caught blatantly disregarding company policies in order to get more business. In one of the videos, the Planned Parenthood manager aids an apparent pimp in the solicitation of underage girls in prostitution. These videos by “Live Action” have yet to be discredited by Planned Parenthood; in fact, Planned Parenthood has actually fired at least one of the employees filmed in these undercover videos.
Although this article is not about these videos, the videos certainly relate. One of the biggest issues separating our country is that of abortion. I know this is not in all cases, but in many, Republicans seem to fight for the right to life and democrats seem to fight for the right to choose. If this is an issue that is debated so heatedly, why is any tax money supporting it? The part that is really annoying is that even with federal funding, Planned Parenthood is not following policies put forward by the government. These celebrities can speak out as much as they want about this issue, but the bottom line is that their opinions are no more valid than mine. They are using their public voice to relay a message that is not felt by most Americans. I don’t want my tax dollars going to any part of birth control or abortions. I am happy that the Republican Party is finally taking a greater stand in the fight against abortions and I sincerely believe that one day Roe vs. Wade will be reversed. I guess if I want my opinion to matter I just have to get rich and famous to have a voice.