Protestors are camped out at a building in Auburn Hills, just minutes from campus, which is slated to become the home of the new Planned Parenthood facility in Oakland County.

In Washington, members of Congress are looking for new ways to restrict abortion. This week, Congress is expected to bring a vote to the floor on the Pence Amendment, which would eliminate all federal funding for family-planning providers that offer abortion services. Another proposal would defund Title X, a family planning program started 40 years ago under President Richard Nixon.

Planned Parenthood recently purchased the building on Opdyke Road and plans to open a center there sometime in 2011.

Planned Parenthood offers reproductive health services including Pap tests, breast exams and cancer screening, as well as education about and access to contraceptives, to anyone regardless of the ability to pay.  Planned Parenthood is also a provider of abortions.

It has not yet been determined whether the Oakland County center will offer abortion services, but protestors were at the site on Monday to rally against the center and against abortion.

Monica Miller, president of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, organizer of the protests, said there had been two other protests already and that at least one person from the group would be at the site almost every day in February for at least an hour. Citizens for a Pro-Life Society also has a “Stop Planned Parenthood” petition on their website which Miller said has collected “at least 5,000-6,000 signatures.” She said they plan to present the petition to the mayor of Auburn Hills and the city council “to show that there is real opposition to this.”

Miller said that it’s a moral issue, “what’s the nature of culture, what kind of society do you want to live in” and that abortions are “killing innocent life.”

Data from Planned Parenthood indicates that abortion services make up a small portion of the services offered. Desiree Cooper, director of community and media relations at Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan, said that most of what they do is preventative services. “Ninety-seven percent of what we do is to avoid what we all see as the worst-case scenario, and that’s abortion services, which is only 3 percent of what we do.”

Last year, she said PPMSM served 35,000 patients in Michigan, using Title X funding, but that no federal funding was used for abortions.

“We serve people without regard of their ability to pay, so that is a critical service when you think about the state of Michigan and the number of people who have lost access to health insurance because of the poor economy,” Cooper said.

Annie Wolf, a junior psychology major and president of Students for Life at OU, was at the demonstration.  She said she has always been pro-life and got involved through her church.  She said that she thought the protest would be a great event to participate in “to speak for the unborn.”  She said Planned Parenthood is bad for the community. They provide medical services, but “that does include abortion.”

April Moses, an elementary education junior said, “I think it’s particularly harmful for (Planned Parenthood) to be so close to the University, especially when pregnant women are going to school.”

Claire Kwiatkowski, studying environmental science, said, “I don’t think it’s a problem. I think that if students here need to go there to get contraceptives, birth control that they may not have access to normally, or to get tested for STD’s, I think that it’s important…I think people should have the option.”

Nancy Jansen, nurse practitioner and director of Graham Health Center, said Planned Parenthood provides much-needed reproductive care for women that don’t have access to it. She is disheartened to see people protesting about abortions:

Jansen said that while Graham focuses on the university, Planned Parenthood is going to provide services to all of Oakland County, at a low cost.

“I’m just thrilled that they are going to be here in Oakland County.  I feel like going out there and carrying a sign — in their favor,” Jansen said.

Congressman Gary Peters said he believed family planning and contraceptive services are good public policy and an effective way to reduce abortions.

“These two proposals are nothing more than a cynical attempt to target Planned Parenthood to score political points, and they would have the effect of actually increasing the number of unplanned pregnancies. Title X family planning services for low-income women have been proven to be effective in preventing millions of unplanned pregnancies and abortions over the past 40 years, and this issue should be common ground for all Americans who want to see the need for abortion reduced.”