Planned Parenthood Saved My Mom's Life

My mom always had horrible periods. They were always debilitating, horrendous events and she would sometimes have to go home early from work. When it was her time of the month, she always slumped down on the couch after we got home from school and work, pressing a hand against her lower stomach and grimacing every time a spasm ripped through her uterus. She was always glad when she was done with her period for the month but knew the next one was inevitable.

One month, her period never stopped. She just kept cramping and bleeding, unable to get up from the couch, unable to escape the pain. She had to use two tampons and a pad every hour just to stop the flow. My mom knew something was seriously wrong, and she sought out a solution from her doctor. Once she was able to finally be seen, all they told her was that she was too heavy, that she needed to quit smoking and to try some light exercise to help mitigate the cramps. She wanted a second opinion, but the next doctor told her the same thing.

After enduring terrible pain for weeks on end, she decided to lie. She called Planned Parenthood and said she suspected she was pregnant. They were able to see her that very week. A simple sonogram revealed she had a tumor the size of a grapefruit on one of her ovaries. Somehow, all the previous doctors had completely missed this gigantic growth, and it took the skill, care, and attention from professionals who listen to women to treat her. They scheduled her for an emergency hysterectomy. Once she recovered, she never felt that pain again.

And even though she was a single mom who worked at a video store, she was able to afford it all thanks to the Title X program.

Back in 1970, the Title X program (as in ten, not the letter X) provided affordable birth control and reproductive health care to people with low incomes. These greatly aided women who couldn’t afford these services on their own, like my mom. For the longest time, this program received bipartisan support since it was introduced. The Title X program ensured affordable wellness exams, breast and cervical cancer screenings, birth control, and testing for STDs and HIV.

Until, of course, Trump.

In mid-2019, the Trump administration used a gag rule to ban doctors in the Title X program from telling women how they can access a safe and legal abortion. But it goes far beyond just abortion. This rule makes it impossible for patients in the program to get birth control at places like Planned Parenthood. It also makes it harder for doctors to give full information about their reproductive and sexual health options. Because of the gag rule, four million patients are at risk.

What’s even worse, it targets and actively harms people of color, LGBTQ people, people who live in rural areas, and people with low incomes. You know, the majority of people who depended on Title X for their healthcare needs.

In the 2020 spending bill, Congress failed to reverse this gag rule. Here’s to hoping that this gets rectified under President Biden’s administration, but millions of people are still at risk until it gets fixed.

Until the gag rule gets reversed, we have to remain loud and insistent. Write to your congresspeople. Donate to Planned Parenthood. Volunteer there and help spread the word.