Cocktails for a cause

Planned Parenthood has been in the news a lot lately. While the organization has always had a mix of supporters as well as opponents, for years the organization has provided low-income women a place where they can take care of all their feminine health needs. Although the organization provides women with services ranging from pap smears to birth control, Planned Parenthood also services men and teens.

Planned Parenthood first started to grace the headlines of national news because of proposed budget cuts coming from our nation’s republican leaders. It made headlines again when then-vice president of the Susan G. Komen Foundation Karen Handel announced plans to pull grants that offered women breast cancer screenings. Thankfully, there was enough outcry from the public to stop this measure, but it wasn’t without a resignation from Handel.

The A-word

The issue of abortion has been a hot issue of debate for decades in this country. Not just affecting women, all members of society seem to have a strong stance or opinion about this subject. While some believe it’s a woman’s right to choose whether she mothers a child, others think that abortion is just another word for murder. Although abortions are technically legal, there is still a lot of moral gray area that is just too hard to handle for some.

That’s why many of our republican leaders, who have conservative, Christian values, strongly oppose the organization’s abortion services and have actively worked to shut down the institution entirely. While they haven’t been able to materialize their agenda, they dealt the organization a crippling blow earlier this year by proposing a $300 million cut in funding.

But abortion and sexual and reproductive health services are not all that Planned Parenthood provides. In fact, it also provides a wide range of affordable general health services. These include flu vaccines, physical exams, and various health screenings. It also provides pregnancy services to prenatal women. With the threat of the cut, the entire organization is in jeopardy of shutting down, and that would leave a lot of our low-income and under-served populations with nowhere to turn for their health needs.

What now?

Now that the 90-year-old organization cannot rely on state and national funding the way it has in the past, it’s looking more and more to private support and individual contributions. Although it will take much more effort and a lot more sacrifice on behalf of their supporters to make up for the proposed $300 million cut in funding, the organization has to start somewhere while they’re still afloat.

In order to get the ball rolling, Planned Parenthood is hosting a soiree for the young movers and shakers of our community. The plan is to get different members of the community together and breed the next generation of Planned Parenthood supporters by raising money for their cause. The event will take place at Six Lounge, which has an amazing rooftop view of Austin as well as a spacious bar and lounge area. Bring your ID and your checkbook.
6 PM
Thursday, May 3
Six Lounge
117 West 4th St
Austin, TX 78701

Amanda Chappel