Students for Life say better options exist for women’s health

A big, pink bus made a big statement at UNC on Tuesday: The fight to defund Planned Parenthood is strong and present.

Students for Life of America is on a weeklong bus tour to college campuses around the country, coordinating with campus Students for Life organizations.

Arina Grossu, director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity, said this organization reaches a lot of college campuses.

“Students for Life has been doing it since 2013. They’ve gone to 150 campuses. This fall they’re going to 80 campuses, so (they’re) raising awareness of what Planned Parenthood is doing and why Planned Parenthood should be defunded, and the money redirected to the 13,500 federally qualified health centers that offer all the services and more of Planned Parenthood, except abortion,” Grossu said.

President of Carolina Students for Life Grace Garner, a sophomore, said this event is based on educating students at UNC and around the country.

“We’re trying to educate them about the actual services that Planned Parenthood provides,” Garner said.

According to Planned Parenthood’s website, five of the nine North Carolina Planned Parenthood offices provide abortion services. The other four provide abortion referrals.

Garner and Grossu said they care about the health of women and do not believe Planned Parenthood does.

“We’re very concerned about women’s health and about the laws Planned Parenthood may be breaking, and we feel that women should have choices from more comprehensive health care,” Garner said.

Grossu said Planned Parenthood affiliates are mostly located around college campuses and minority neighborhoods.

“They target students and young people, so we want to let them know about what Planned Parenthood is doing and to give them the information so that they can support health centers that actually care for them and for women and their families,” Grossu said.

Senior Aimee Mulligan said she’s anti-abortion.

“That is a human being,” Mulligan said. “That is a person that is guaranteed the rights and liberties that are in our Constitution.”

Garner said there are other options for low-income families to receive healthcare.

“We have information for federally qualified health centers — local, here in Chapel Hill. These services are also aimed towards low-income women and families,” Garner said.

“They receive the same kind of funding Planned Parenthood does, Title X and Medicaid, and they provide much more comprehensive health care.”

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