Inconspicuous Role of Planned Parenthood in American Election

Linkage institutions played a dominant role in both major parties in the 2016 American Presidential Election. Most important, however, were the influences of special interest groups and political parties and how the two worked together to fulfil a partisan agenda. It is known that Planned Parenthood is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, and while the Planned Parenthood Federation of America itself is nonpartisan, its leaders, and most specifically its President, Cecile Richards, are all fundamentally left-leaning and displayed full support of Hillary Clinton in her campaign, donating from a separate fund, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, raising awareness about her platform and agenda, and in turn received unwavering support from her campaign for the fight for accessible reproductive healthcare. Hillary Clinton is of course not the only 2016 presidential candidate who supported and received support from Planned Parenthood, every major candidate from the Democratic Party had Planned Parenthood standing behind them, but as the DNC’s nominee, Clinton acquired the most backing from the foundation.

It could be argued that Planned Parenthood is a single issue interest group but that interest is vast and all-encompassing in regard to equality, women’s rights, and the notion that affordable reproductive healthcare and comprehensive sex education should be available for all. They have been increasingly influential and persistent when it comes to pushing issues relating to women’s health, the most controversial of which is a woman’s right to an abortion. Supporting these freedoms caused notable backlash from a majority of the Movement Conservatives, generally including but not limited to party candidates, those already in office, and voters. Planned Parenthood aimed to increase support for the issue of reproductive health which, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, was considered a “second-tier issue”.  

Planned Parenthood's Social Outreach Efforts and Political Involvement

During the 2016 election cycle many Republican presidential nominees advocated for the Pro-Life movement to “Defund Planned Parenthood” as a way to cater to single-issue voters and created a stalemate between themselves and politicians and their voters on the other end of the spectrum. In an effort to demonize Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, the Right manufactured baseless scandals that not only have abortion rates increased since the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, but that the clinic is harvesting the brains, organs, and stem cells of living and/or viable fetuses, and lastly stated they were performing all of these acts on the federal dollar, which is against the law, and again, was not a reality. This fabricated attempt at defamation has left the organization tarnished and riddled with continued accusations of the debunked claim. In fact, following Roe v. Wade, it seemed that the case decision had “legalized the idea that pregnancy did not represent a woman’s destiny”, an ideology with which many Democrats, both politician and constituents seemed to align themselves with and uphold. Following the scandal which surfaced at the time claiming that Planned Parenthood was illegally harvesting fetal tissue, Clinton gave a keynote speech at a Planned Parenthood gala and was later called by Republicans to return campaign contributions which she received from the organization as it was thought to be unethical. Clinton chose to stand firm in her support of Planned Parenthood under the impression that “a full-throated defense of Planned Parenthood helps shore up Clinton’s support among wavering liberals, while the GOP’s efforts to defund the family- planning group allow Clinton to make the case that her election would be a bulwark against efforts to roll back women’s rights”.

Planned Parenthood uses a great deal of its funding for social outreach efforts and promoting sexual safety and health, along with supporting the idea that services like the ones they provide, should be more easily accessible to the disadvantaged and disenfranchised, an idea which Clinton referenced and defended in her appearance on the stage of the final 2016 Presidential Debate. Clinton worked closely with Planned Parenthood during her campaign, revitalizing the notion within her demographic that they provide necessary care and the ways in which that care protects “sacred rights,” which no man, woman, or governing body may take away from any individual in our country.

Even as a non-profit organization, Planned Parenthood has Political Action Committees (PAC’s) which donated generously not only to Clinton’s 2016, but also her 2008 campaign. Many of the biggest donors of the Planned Parenthood PAC were also “long-time Clinton donors”, which many in opposition to Clinton’s potential presidency flagged as a conflict of interest in regard to the political agenda, claiming that Planned Parenthood would influence her policies when in fact she was already in support of the wholistic “mission” of Planned Parenthood to begin with and the two would have, given her election, been a very unified front. Clinton’s campaign was incredibly successful among the populous, she was able to reach a large number of fringe voters and electorates who had been continually marginalized in previous election cycles. Despite the best efforts of the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, and related interest groups, Clinton however, failed to campaign in swing states which caused her to lose the Electoral College, creating an environment in which government retrogress and stagnation would thrive, and they did. Over the duration of the last 2 years, many of the policy changes which Clinton had advocated for during her campaign have been either thrown out, overturned, or scrutinized by the elected officials and appointees under President Trump’s power or influence. But in the wake of an incredibly unsatisfactory political climate, it is evident to politicians, political scientist, and even the layman, that this may very well cause the next election to produce a polar opposite result, seeing as citizen disapproval of the rate of efficacy with which the government addresses and fixes problems is one of the greatest motivators behind getting voters to the polls.

Final Thoughts

And I am certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the issues which Planned Parenthood brings to light and the rights for which they advocate, will play an extraordinarily pivotal role in the evolution of the American voter and the prospective outcome of the 2020 election.

Bibliography

1. Hogue, Ilyse, and Tammi Kromenaker. 'The Power of Planned Parenthood.' Publication: The Hill, October 24, 2019. URL: https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/467080-the-power-of-planned-parenthood

2. Bravender, Robin. 'Planned Parenthood Takes Center Stage in Presidential Race.' Publication: Politico, September 19, 2019. URL: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/19/planned-parenthood-2020-election-1501785

3. Tuttle, Ian. 'What Impact Does Planned Parenthood Have on Elections?' Publication: National Review, May 6, 2019. URL: https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/05/planned-parenthood-election-impact-abortion/

4. Mayer, Jane. 'The Risk of Planned Parenthood Becoming a Single-Issue Super PAC.' Publication: The New Yorker, January 26, 2016. URL: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-risk-of-planned-parenthood-becoming-a-single-issue-super-pac

5. Reilly, Katie. 'Planned Parenthood Launches $45 Million Campaign to Support Pro-Abortion Candidates in 2020.' Publication: Time, October 9, 2019. URL: https://time.com/5691457/planned-parenthood-45-million-campaign-2020-election/

6. Kareem, Carrington. 'Planned Parenthood and Elections: How the Organization's Political Activities Shape Policy Outcomes.' Publication: Guttmacher Policy Review, vol. 20, 2017, pp. 40-44. URL: https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2017/04/planned-parenthood-and-elections-how-organizations-political-activities-shape-policy

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7. Haberkorn, Jennifer. 'Abortion Rights Group Launches Largest-Ever Campaign to Flip State Legislatures.' Publication: Los Angeles Times, January 22, 2020. URL: https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-01-22/planned-parenthood-campaigns-state-legislatures