To the editor:

This weekend, America spoke out and asked the 115th Congress to reroute taxpayer dollars from Planned Parenthood, including Planned Parenthood of the North Country, Plattsburgh, to comprehensive health care centers. More than 225 #DefundPP events took place in 43 states and the nation’s capital, drawing tens of thousands of people rallying to protest tax-dollar support of Planned Parenthood.

Each year, Planned Parenthood performs over 320,000 abortions, 34 percent of the annual total. They provide less than 2 percent of manual breast exams, less than 1 percent of pap smear tests and zero mammograms for women in America. That’s not addressing women’s health, reproductive or otherwise. Why not redirect our tax money to Federally Qualified Health Centers that provide a wider range of health care services and a higher standard of care?

Reallocating tax dollars to supporting legitimate providers of comprehensive women’s health care frees us from having to deal with Planned Parenthood’s increasingly negative image. Congress has investigated Planned Parenthood’s involvement in harvesting and selling fetal tissue. Do we really want that kind of business in our neighborhood?

I urge Plattsburgh and North Country, New York, area residents to call your U.S. senators Chuck Schumer, 202-224-6542, and Kirsten Gillibrand, 202-224-4451, or U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, 202-225-4611, and insist that they defund Planned Parenthood now!

Nancy Belzile

Willsboro