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It’s a very cleverly worded press release. When discussing breast cancer, it mentions that mammograms are an integral part of prevention.

But it never actually says that PP does mammograms — in fact, it hardly says that PP does ANYTHING, except to offer “programs”.

“in some areas, the only place that poor, uninsured or under-insured women can receive these services are through programs run by Planned Parenthood.”

So, if PP runs a “program”, and that program signs up women and then helps them find doctors who will do mammograms and other tests, they are in fact “programs run by Planned Parenthood”, even though PP is hardly necessary.

The write-up also uses the words “screening”; that can include doing surveys, and breast self-exams, both of which PP does “offer” (the idea that you need to go to a PP clinic to do a breast self-exam is kind of funny, but I presume the idea is they will teach you how to do it).

And it is true that PP has set itself up as a pass-thru provider for many small communities, in some cases it seems using government money to monopolize the industry so there’s no chance for another provider to step in, except to be a service provider to the PP programs.

It is quite possible that if we stopped all government funding of PP, and instead directed that money to organizations who directly provide the services we want to fund, that we’d get those services popping up throughout those areas where PP holds the monopoly now.