As of late January 2017, Trump signed the executive order to prevent any federal funding from organizations that allow and condone abortion all over the world. Particularly, the defunding of Planned Parenthood has caused an uproar of controversy among many people in the United States, specifically women. However, some states were able to receive private funding or donations to continue providing health care; but other states have not.
Tory Mills, employee at Planned Parenthood of Knoxville, Tennessee, shared her thoughts as well as explaining the fate of Planned Parenthood in her town. She explains that defunding works in two different ways. One way is the prevention of patients from using Medicaid insurance to pay their bills. The other way is to prevent certain states from receiving Title X funds; however, this will not have a huge impact in Tennessee because they did not receive Title X funds in the first place.
As of now, Knoxville's Planned Parenthood is still open and functioning as it would on any given day.
"We will continue to provide essential health care and education services regardless. We already work hard to ensure that every patient who comes through our door gets the care they need, and we'll continue to do so," Mills said.
Tory Mills is still dedicated to helping and serving patients every day. The Planned Parenthood of Knoxville is particularly fortunate for their donors who have offered monetary donations and "in-kind" donations, such as volunteering their skills and time. Since this is a non-profit organization, the donors are important for helping continue the services and making them affordable.
The fate of all Planned Parenthoods in the United States is uncertain. However, they can still manage to go about their daily services with the help of donors and patients can receive the help they need.
