Attention dudes in power: I thought we'd been through this.

Planned Parenthood isn't a pet project.

It doesn't fund abortions with federal money.

It's an non-judgmental health clinic that refrains from guilt-trip desperate women about their pregnancy options.

It's a basic healthcare provider for millions of low-income Americans, including thousands of Oregonians. In our state, Planned Parenthood gave out 333,000 units of birth control and did 23,000 STD tests in 2009.

A recent study showed that axing Planned Parenthood's family planning funding would lead to 51 percent more abortions every year in Oregon and all those unintended pregnancies would wind up costing over $18 million in public funds.

So, defunding Planned Parenthood means supporting an increase in abortions and "wasting taxpayer dollars" you always rail on about. Stop using the health and safety of millions of women as a bargaining chip in your budget battles. It's unseemly. Thank you.