Between The Lines - Susan Yolen: GOP Bill Would Cut Federal Planned Parenthood Funding (Week Ending 3/4/11)

Award-winning Investigative Journalist Robert Parry (1949-2018)

Award-winning investigative journalist and founder/editor of ConsortiumNews.com, Robert Parry has passed away. His ground-breaking work uncovering Reagan-era dirty wars in Central America and many other illegal and immoral policies conducted by successive administrations and U.S. intelligence agencies, stands as an inspiration to all in journalists working in the public interest.

Robert had been a regular guest on our Between The Lines and Counterpoint radio shows -- and many other progressive outlets across the U.S. over four decades.

His penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international conflicts will be sorely missed, and not easily replaced. His son Nat Parry writes a tribute to his father: Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews.

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The Resistance Starts Now!

Between The Lines' coverage and resource compilation of the Resistance Movement

"The man who predicted Trump presidential win now says Trump impeachment could happen," AM Joy with Joy Reid, MSNBC, Jan. 21, 2018
"Sketchy Kazakh money finds its way into Trump dealings," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Red flags seen in many Trump real estate deals," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers," BuzzFeed, Jan. 12, 2018
"The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition," The Atlantic, May 15, 2017
"Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests," Washington Post's ongoing compilation
"What Comey Was Investigating, Explained," The Moscow Project, Center for American Progress

"Donald Trump's Financial Ties to Russian Oligarchs and Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary from the Netherlands," Dutch TV documentary, Alternet.org, May 12, 2017
Ongoing compilation of Trump's creeping authoritarianism," MotherJones.com
Full resource list ...

SPECIAL REPORT: "The Resistance - Women's March 2018 - Hartford, Connecticut" Jan. 20, 2018

Selected speeches from the Women's March in Hartford, Connecticut 2018, recorded and produced by Scott Harris

SPECIAL REPORT: "No Fracking Waste in CT!" Jan. 14, 2018

Jen Siskind Jennifer Siskind, local coordinator for Food and Water Watch, describes the campaign to stop fracking waste in Connecticut, which so far has led to fracking waste bans in 34 towns around the state. Interviewed by Richard Hill on Mic Check, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT

SPECIAL REPORT: "Resistance Round Table: The Unraveling Continues..." Jan. 13, 2018

Lindsay Kanaly The panel discusses Trump's long history of racism and the Republican voter suppression juggernaut confronting Democrats leading up to the 2018 elections. Special guest: Lindsay Kanaly, a lead organizer of the Women's Marches planned for Jan. 20, 2018. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill on Resistance Roundtable, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT.

SPECIAL REPORT: "Capitalism to the ash heap?" Richard Wolff, Jan. 2, 2018

Richard Wolff, Economics professor Richard Wolff declares U.S. capitalism to be beyond repair and suggests the need for a radical alternative. Interviewed by Richard Hill

SPECIAL REPORT: Maryn McKenna, author of "Big Chicken", Dec. 7, 2017

Maryn McKenna, investigative journalist and author of Big Chicken, talks about the widespread use and dangers of antibiotics in commercial poultry, beef and fruit production. Interview by Bill Duesing, Richard Hill and Guy Beardsly on WPKN's Organic Farm Stand.

SPECIAL REPORT: Nina Turner's address, Working Families Party Awards Banquet, Dec. 14, 2017

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, talks about the fight ahead for progressives as she receives the Working Families Organization Award for Exceptional Leadership Towards Advancing Progress. The event was held in Meriden, CT. Produced by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Dec. 12, 2017

Working Families Party of CT talks strategy and issues for 2018.
Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Working Families Party of Connecticut, discusses the state's electoral landscape and lays out the issues and strategies that could lead to progressive victories in 2018. Interviewed by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Dec. 9, 2017

Disturbing developments in the Trump/Republican Agenda
Focus on the tax bill, destruction of our public lands, North Korea and Trump's private CIA. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill. Special guest: Jo Macallero of Rise and Resist.

SPECIAL REPORT: On Tyranny - one year later, Nov. 28, 2017

Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the highly acclaimed resistance manual On Tyranny, discusses his book and offers a fresh assessment of the state of our beleaguered republic. Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale, is introduced by Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, a Connecticut-based organization that sponsored this event at the United Church Parish House in New Haven on Nov. 28. A brief interview with Snyder conducted by WPKN radio producer, Richard Hill, follows his talk.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Nov. 12, 2017

Lynne Ide, director of program and policy with the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, talks about the current state of health care coverage in Connecticut. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Nov. 11, 2017

Focus on the Republican tax plan, the just-released autopsy on the Democratic Party, and Internet censorship by Google, Facebook and Youtube. Including an interview with Hilary Grant, a lead organizer with Action Together Connecticut, who discusses the local results of the recent election, with hosts Richard Hill, Scott Harris and Ruth Baumgartner WPKN producers

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Two leaders from Redneck Revolt, an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement, talk about their work organizing with white working class people in Suffolk County, New York. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, describes the extent of -- and motives underlying -- the vast US network of military bases around the globe. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resisting U.S. JeJu Island military base in South Korea, Oct. 24, 2017

Joyakol, South Korean peace activist and singer, discusses the crisis on the Korean peninsula and focuses on the resistance to the U.S. huge military base being constructed on Jeju Island. The event was sponsored by the Greater New Haven Peace Council and this audio was recorded by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.
Joyakol discusses Americans' biggest misconceptions about the conflict between North and South Korea and the U.S., Interview by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.

SPECIAL REPORT: John Allen, Out in New Haven

John Allen, founding director of the New Haven Pride Center, Connecticut, talks about his new LGBTQ television show, Out in New Haven, which presents a range of political and cultural issues to the community. Interviewed by Richard Hill on WPKN's Rainy Day Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018.

2017 Gandhi Peace Awards

Promoting Enduring Peace presented its Gandhi Peace Award jointly to renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader and BDS founder Omar Barghouti on April 23, 2017.

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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE...

who helped make our 25th anniversary with Jeremy Scahill a success!

For those who missed the event, or were there and really wanted to fully absorb its import, here it is in video

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 1 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 2 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Between The Lines on Stitcher

Between The Lines Presentation at the Left Forum 2016

"How Do We Build A Mass Movement to Reverse Runaway Inequality?" with Les Leopold, author of "Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice,"May 22, 2016, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, 860 11th Ave. (Between 58th and 59th), New York City. Between The Lines' Scott Harris and Richard Hill moderated this workshop. Listen to the audio/slideshows and more from this workshop.

Listen to audio of the plenary sessions from the weekend.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker "Dirty Wars"

Listen to the full interview (30:33) with Jeremy Scahill, an award-winning investigative journalist with the Nation Magazine, correspondent for Democracy Now! and author of the bestselling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," about America's outsourcing of its military. In an exclusive interview with Counterpoint's Scott Harris on Sept. 16, 2013, Scahill talks about his latest book, "Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield," also made into a documentary film under the same title, and was nominated Dec. 5, 2013 for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Listen to Scott Harris Live on WPKN Radio

Between The Lines' Executive Producer Scott Harris hosts a live, weekly talk show, Counterpoint, from which some of Between The Lines' interviews are excerpted. Listen every Monday evening from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT at www.WPKN.org (Follows the 5-7 minute White Rose Calendar.)

Counterpoint in its entirety is archived after midnight ET Monday nights, and is available for at least a year following broadcast in WPKN Radio's Archives.

You can also listen to full unedited interview segments from Counterpoint, which are generally available some time the day following broadcast.

Subscribe to Counterpoint bulletins via our subscriptions page.

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GOP Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood

Modified Feb. 25, 2011

Real Audio MP3

Interview with Susan Yolen, vice president of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

After an all-night session on Feb. 19, the House of Representatives passed a continuing budget resolution that zeroes out Title X, the decades-old federal family planning program -- and an amendment to the resolution that cuts all federal funding to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Planned Parenthood, which runs 800 health centers around the country, provides a wide spectrum of services addressing women's health. Indiana Republican Rep. Mike Pence, who sponsored the Planned Parenthood amendment, called the vote "a victory for taxpayers and a victory for life," because he stated, Planned Parenthood provides abortions. But women seeking abortions constitute just ten percent of Planned Parenthood's patients in most states, while the vast majority of women go to the group's clinics for pregnancy prevention and basic health care.

Federal, state and local grants total $363 million -- or one-third of Planned Parenthood's $1 billion national budget. Ninety percent of that amount is in federal grants or Medicaid payments.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Susan Yolen, vice president of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, covering Connecticut and Rhode Island. She explains the history of these funding streams, how women are benefiting, and what's likely to happen if the proposed cuts overcome opposition in the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate and an expected presidential veto.

SUSAN YOLEN: Actually, we weren't surprised at all. We were expecting it. I think Mr. Pence has been around with this kind of language for years. He just hasn't had the groundswell, I guess, of support from leadership that he now has with the new Republican majority. So we weren't surprised; we were bracing for it.

BETWEEN THE LINES: There are two things I want to talk about. One is directly cutting all federal funding for Planned Parenthood at clinics around the country; but the other thing is cutting Title X funding, which also I guess has an impact. Let's talk about Title X funding first. What would that mean? For listeners, just describe what Title X funding is and what Planned Parenthood affiliates get and what its cut would mean.

SUSAN YOLEN: Well, Title X is the national family planning program. It was founded back in the early 1970s by President Nixon, believe it or not, back in the days when it was a very positive Republican value to support family planning. So it's been around all those years, and it really is the core of our national program to help women prevent unintended pregnancy, but more than that, it provides vital screenings for young people and low-income women. This is where the annual exam, the Pap smear, the clinical breast exam, the testing and treatment for STDs...

BETWEEN THE LINES: STDs being...

SUSAN YOLEN: Sexually transmitted diseases -- all of which is covered by Title X for those who qualify, who are low-income women and often times young women who are in their first job or just don't have insurance.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Can you clarify the funding that was proposed to be cut specifically from Planned Parenthood -- does that sort of roll over into Title X funding, or are they two separate pots?

SUSAN YOLEN: Well, there are two things going on here. One is Congress saying Planned Parenthood should get not a dollar of federal funding, no matter what the source is. So Title X is one source. But there are other sources of revenue that come in our door; for example, about 30 percent of our patients are on Medicaid and when they come to us with their Medicaid card, Medicaid is the payer for their care, so that would be also something that would be out of bounds for us.

BETWEEN THE LINES: So 30 percent of your patients would no longer be able to get services...

SUSAN YOLEN: That's right, and one of the ironies of all this is that with health reform coming down the pike -- I hope -- one of the first steps that was going to take place was the expansion of Medicaid so that more low-income people could right away get coverage. And so we are all expecting a number of new people to be eligible for Medicaid who will be looking for a provider because there aren't enough providers to suddenly accommodate a whole influx of newly covered individuals. So I know the community health centers will be expecting an influx, but so would we.

BETWEEN THE LINES: So, Mike Pence, I noticed on his website, he claims credit and says it's really going to cut funding for abortions. So what percentage of Planned Parenthood's money goes for abortion? I mean, you do a lot of other things as well.

SUSAN YOLEN: It varies across the country, but here in Connecticut and Rhode Island it's less than ten percent of our patients, and our services, are abortion-focused. So the vast majority of our work is basic pregnancy prevention, basic health visits, cancer screenings in particular. So it's not abortion-focused, and none of the federal money that we get actually goes for abortion because of federal legislation that was passed years ago and continues to be renewed called the Hyde amendment, which says only in very, very extreme cases, could a woman access an abortion with federal dollars.

BETWEEN THE LINES: I know you're hoping, all the people who support reproductive rights and access to health care for women, hope this is going to die in the Senate. Is that your expectation?

SUSAN YOLEN: Well, I think it's our cautiously optimistic expectation. We certainly aren't taking anything for granted. We're going to be working diligently between now and whenever the Senate votes to make sure that every senator who supports family planning -- and there are folks, by the way, who are not pro-choice on the abortion issue, but do understand the importance of preventing pregnancy and will vote with us in that regard. So we're hoping to get every vote we can. I'd just like to talk about the availability of family planning, because, honestly, every dollar the government spends on family planning saves four dollars. This has been documented over and over again.

BETWEEN THE LINES: How does it do that?

SUSAN YOLEN: Well, by preventing the cost associated with an unplanned pregnancy, so in the first nine months -- because that's how long a pregnancy takes -- you're saving money on prenatal care visits, labor and delivery, and particularly sometimes, you know, the neonatal intensive care kind of costs that drives the cost of delivery up very high. So we will be losing money by not investing in family planning.

BETWEEN THE LINES: If a low-income person needs family planning, birth control, and can't get it, the likelihood of many more unplanned pregnancies seems the inevitable result, and within that group of unplanned pregnancies, an increase among some of those women in trying to figure out, one way or another, how to get an abortion.

SUSAN YOLEN: Absolutely, that is clearly the case. Every unintended pregnancy is someone's individual decision to make. And certainly, just getting back to the economy for a moment, right now it's a particularly difficult time to not be able to afford that monthly pill pack that is really what's keeping her from pregnancy.

Contact Planned Parenthood at (202) 973-4800 or visit their website at plannedparenthood.org