I have been one of the millions of women nationwide who have used Planned Parenthood’s services at a time when I could not afford unsubsidized health care. Thus, the recent attempts in the U.S. House of Representatives to eliminate Title X funding and federal funding for Planned Parenthood have shocked and appalled me.

This legislative attack has been presented to the public as being about the sensitive issue of abortion, but that is not at all what is at stake for millions of low-income American women. Abortion services are already barred from federal funding.

What is really at stake is affordable access to the services that make up more than 90 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services — preventive care (such as Pap smears and breast cancer screening), contraceptives, and STI testing and treatment.

In addition to being the humane thing to do, voting against the elimination of Title X funding and federal funding for Planned Parenthood is the economical thing to do. Affordable access to birth control and preventive screenings will save money in the long run; for every public dollar invested in family planning, taxpayers save nearly $4. In addition, affordable access to birth control will actually decrease the number of women who seek abortions.

It seems to me that protecting Title X funding for family planning and federal funding for Planned Parenthood is the logical choice from every side of the issue, economic or humanitarian.

Laurie Griesinger, Lewiston