“Defunding Planned Parenthood would hurt not only all Americans, but especially low-income Latino women and families,” declares a recent Huffington Post article titled, “We Stand With Planned Parenthood Because They Stand With the Latino Community.” It came from the NCLR [National Council of La Raza] Action Fund, a leading Latino political organization. Similarly, Xavier Becerra, the Representative for California’s 34th District, told me that defunding Planned Parenthood will “Jeopardize the health of many Americans.”

Defunding Planned Parenthood will not at all hurt many Americans, including the low-income Latino Community.

The Independent Journal (summarizing a Daily Signal article) answers the claim that defunding Planned Parenthood will hurt women. Comparing Planned Parenthood with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) they found:

Planned Parenthood boasts that it served 2.7 million patients last year, but FQHCs alone served 21.1 million. That’s about eight times more clients; There are 665 Planned Parenthood facilities compared to the 13,540 comprehensive women’s health clinics; Planned Parenthood’s cancer screening, prevention programs, and prenatal services have dropped by half, while abortion numbers remain up; and Planned Parenthood reported an excess of revenue over expenses of $127.1 million. This is a revenue increase of $40 million from 2012—with approximately 40 percent of its profit coming from abortions.

Defunding Planned Parenthood will not “jeopardize the health of many Americans,” especially if the 528.4 million in “Government Health Services Grants & Reimbursements” that Planned Parenthood receives are given to Community Health Centers, as the S1881 bill would have done.

A Pro-Life Latino

I’m a Latino, and like many in my community, I cannot support an organization like Planned Parenthood because I believe that all lives matter, regardless of their developmental stage, whether an embryo, an infant, a toddler, a teen, or an adult. Human beings, at every developmental stage possess intrinsic worth and value by virtue of who they are as human beings; dignity is not ascribed to humans based on what they can do. Otherwise those in vegetative states would be rendered “non-human.”

For this reason, I cannot stand with Planned Parenthood and I am not alone. According to the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), more Latino Millennials oppose abortion than other ethnic groups. PRRI says,

Differences by race and ethnicity are generally more modest, but Hispanic millennials are less likely than other millennials to support the legality of abortion. A majority of white (56%), black (59%), and Asian-Pacific Islander (API) millennials (66%) say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. In contrast, less than half (45%) of Hispanic millennials agree with their peers; a majority (54%) says abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

According to a 2013 Pew Research Center (PRC) report, “Hispanics tend to be more conservative than the general public in their views on abortion.” According to PRC, “53% of all Hispanics say abortion should be illegal,” while only 42% say otherwise. In both reports, more Hispanics (PRRI says 80%) who attend religious services weekly say that abortion should be illegal is all or most cases.

The facts of science all agree with the prolife cause: it is an undeniable truth that “the life of a new human being commences at a scientifically well defined ‘moment of conception.’” Defunding Planned Parenthood is taking a stand for life. Supporting the cause to defund Planned Parenthood is being the voice of the innocent and speaking out for their right to live. Defunding Planned Parenthood does not hurt anyone. On the contrary, funding Planned Parenthood is a declaration of war on specific human beings — human beings in their earliest developmental stages.

The NCLR Action Fund further argues that Planned Parenthood “has shown up for the Latino community.” Granted that Planned Parenthood has groups like Raiz and Promotoras, groups that mobilize Latinos to vote, educate them about Obamacare and the value of reproductive health and sex education, and raise awareness of other topics such as “family communication, child abuse, alcohol and drug abuse, teen pregnancy prevention and domestic violence.” What follows from that? I could also point out prolife groups that also reach out to Latino communities such as the Dream Center, Open Arms, and over a dozen other Hispanic leaders with diverse outreach programs.

Just because Planned Parenthood has groups reaching out to Latino communities does not mean that everything that Planned Parenthood does is right or that it’s inherently good. Dennis Rader, “BTK Killer,” murdered many innocent people for many years and held a leadership position at his church. Can we reasonably deem Rader as a good person because of some of his good acts? Likewise, Planned Parenthood cannot be deemed as a good organization — its abhorrent actions far overweigh any good they may do.

NCLR Action Fund’s article concludes, “Defunding Planned Parenthood may be a political talking point for some, but for the Latino women, men, and young people who rely on Planned Parenthood for health care, it’s quite literally a matter of life and death.” Well, yes, it literally is a matter of life and death, especially because of Planned Parenthood’s numerous unlawful actions:

Planned Parenthood clinics across the country performed abortions on sexually abused minors and did not report the abuse to authorities. Clinic locations in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Ohio all failed to follow mandatory reporting laws and alert the authorities that a minor had been sexually abused, or they failed to alert the parents of a minor seeking an abortion. (Emphasis mine)

The NCLR Action Fund does not speak for me. NCLR Action Fund and Congressman Becerra need to get their facts straight about Planned Parenthood: defunding Planned Parenthood will not hurt anyone. It will not hurt Latino families. It will not hurt the poor. Defunding Planned Parenthood will actually start saving thousands of lives. I am a Prolife Latino because all lives matter and in no good conscience can I ever support an organization like Planned Parenthood.

James Lopez is earning his bachelor’s degree in political science at Indiana University and graduate degree in philosophy at Biola University. He is the president of Biola Anscombe Society and a Youth Council Member at the International Children’s Rights Institute.