One of the most contentious parts of the current budget debate in Washington, D.C., is whether to cut funding for planned Parenthood, a national chain that specializes in providing affordable reproductive health care for men and women. Among those who are anxiously awaiting the outcome of that debate is Karrie Galloway, CEO of planned Parenthood Association of Utah, which operates nine clinics in the state, including one in Park City.

If budget cuts are made, the PPAU Park City clinic would most likely have to scale back on its services, Galloway explained. the Park City clinic currently offers breast exams, STD screenings, pap smears, testicular exams, birth control and fertility testing.

PPAU’s Park City clinic has provided services to more than 600 patients so far in 2011. People come from all over Summit and Wasatch County and even Vernal, explained Clinical Assistant Clara Uchoa. Women mostly come in for pap smears and birth control.

A pap smear tests for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) which most commonly causes cervical cancer, explained Uchoa. PPAU Park City also administers the HPV Vaccine in three treatments for $10.

On a busy day, PPAU Park City treats approximately 20 patients by appointment and an average of 10 to 13 walk-in patients, Uchoa explained. the majority of these patients are women. But, they do get some male patients who may be experiencing STD symptoms.

During the current budget negotiations Republicans have been persistent in demanding reductions in funding for planned Parenthood, in part because of the government’s increasing debt and because they want to ensure that no taxpayer dollars are used to pay for abortions.

Galloway insists, still, “There’s never been a federal, state or private audit that has ever found taxpayer money that has gone toward abortion.”

In the 1970s, former U.S. President Richard Nixon signed the Public Health Service Act that supplies low income people with access to family planning and other health services. In the past that funding has received support from both sides of the aisle, Galloway explained.

This year though, the Democrats and Republicans are sharply divided with Republicans prepared to cut funding for planned Parenthood.

In a statement to the Park Record from U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), “Planned Parenthood provides services that could and should be funded by private contributions, rather than by taxpayers.”

In a statement by U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, “Like most Utahns and other Americans, I oppose taxpayer-funded abortions and have concerns about sending taxpayer dollars to the largest abortion provider in the country.”

However, according to Galloway, three percent of the patients the clinic serves fall into the abortion category, nationally. she added that the number is much less in Utah.

For many of the 53,000 Utahns the clinic serves annually, PPAU is their only form of health insurance. Galloway explained that 85 percent of the people coming to planned Parenthood clinics receive some sort of subsidy.

Additional budget cuts are still being discussed in Washington, D.C., which may force the Department of Health and Human Services to withdraw the $1.7 million given to planned Parenthood in Utah, Galloway says.

A budget cut would decrease the amount of subsidized funding people receive at planned Parenthood, Galloway explained. Women are known to put themselves last and not take care of their health. “When single women have to put food on the table for their kids their health doesn’t come first,” Galloway said.

Galloway visited Washington, D.C., last week at the height of the budget showdown. she was amazed at how the funding for her organization had become a central issue holding up the government debate. many would agree, but perhaps for different reasons.

Hatch included in his statement that the fiscal crisis makes eliminating government spending a necessity, “The House of Representatives recently passed legislation to stop the flow of federal funds to planned Parenthood.” Hatch said that he’s looking forward to leading this fight in the Senate.