There’s been a lot of static this past week on whether or not Congress should defund Planned Parenthood.

The uproar came when anti-abortion activists released undercover videos of Planned Parenthood executives that questioned whether the company was profiting from the sale of fetal tissue.

Five videos released by the Center of Medical Progress capture Planned Parenthood’s executives quibbling over aborted babies’ body parts and nonchalantly discussing procedures to abort the babies.

Opponents of abortion spoke out heavily and many right-wingers called for defunding the organization.

Planned Parenthood receives government funding to provide preventative services, including family planning, including contraceptives and screenings for breast cancer and cervical cancer.

The organization cannot use the funding for abortion.

Researchers stood up this week defending the organization and the handling of donated tissue due to the ability to save lives.

Those researchers say the tissues would otherwise be thrown away and have played a vital role in medical advances and could be the key to the next greatest breakthrough.

I know my Facebook feed has been full of opinions from both sides of the spectrum.

Being a mother of a 6-year-old with an autoimmune disorder on which there isn’t a lot of research, I’d say I would welcome any kind of research that could lead to a cure.

Call me cruel if you’d like, but abortion is legal in this country, so if another mother decides not to keep her child and studying its tissue can make my child live a pain-free life. I’m all for it.

I don’t know a parent who wouldn’t do everything in his or her power to have a healthy child.

And we haven’t even begun to talk about the truly good things that Planned Parenthood does.

Statistics show that in 2010, some 2.4 million women and girls got contraceptives from the organization.

More than one in three women who got contraceptives from a publicly funded clinic used Planned Parenthood.

Last year, 42 percent of the organization’s services were for STD screening and treatment; 34 percent were for contraception; and 9 percent were for cancer screenings. A mere 3 percent were for abortions.

While many think of Planned Parenthood as an abortion service, it has helped the U.S. progress in terms of fewer abortions and unwanted pregnancies.

Statistics show that 1.7 million unwanted pregnancies – including 374,000 teen pregnancies were averted thanks to publicly funded clinics.

Typically speaking, the people who utilize Planned Parenthood are low income and are seemingly attempting to be responsible. Without services of organizations like this one, we would have far more unwanted pregnancies, which would result in more people dependent upon government programs and potentially more back-room abortions.

Let’s think about the positives that Planned Parenthood brings and the necessity it is to women’s health care.

I don’t think anyone wants the government to tell him or her how to plan a family.