CHANGES

Will Planned Parenthood Survive?

Critics say taxpayer money shouldn’t pay for abortions.

Last year, a measure introduced by a congressional Republican to eliminate all federal funding for Planned Parenthood passed the Senate. Since then, the association has been a target for those who oppose abortion as well as those who oppose government programs for the poor. Critics simply don’t think abortions should be paid for by taxpayer money. Nearly every single GOP presidential candidate this year is staunchly opposed to Planned Parenthood. So what will become of the 800 clinics around the U.S., and how will it affect the one in five women in the country who have been treated by the organization? Conservatives have lately been pushing for “personhood” amendments that, in the case of states like Mississippi, where nearly 60 percent of voters just rejected the measure on Tuesday, would have made several forms of birth control illegal and outlawed abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.