Abortion.

Typically, when one thinks of Planned Parenthood, that is the first — and possibly only — thing that comes to mind.

Dr. Maureen Phipps, an OB/GYN at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, said differently in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“People don’t understand how vital Planned Parenthood is to preventive services, including immunizations, contraceptives, preventive health, STD screening and treatment, cervical cancer screening, screening for high blood pressure,” Phipps said. “Those services are often overshadowed by the controversial issues. But this is 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does.”

This past week, Planned Parenthood has been a major point of debate in the Senate. A government shutdown loomed over the heads of Americans as Senate continued to debate about budget cuts. The funding for Planned Parenthood proved to be the “sticking point” according to ABC News. Congress agreed on the budget cuts, and plans to take the funding for Planned Parenthood to a vote are in place.

PBS NewsHour spent time on April 6 with their congressional correspondent, Kwame Holman, Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Republican Senator Bob Corker, and Democratic Senator John Kerry discussing the on-going Senate debates.

“Republicans in the House have targeted Planned Parenthood because it provides abortion services,” said Holman. “But Democrats counter that using federal funds to provide abortion already is prohibited under a provision known as the Hyde Amendment. They said cutting funds for Planned Parenthood would only hurt the group’s ability to provide other services, including contraceptive supplies and cancer screenings.”

The Congress members then voiced their responses to Holman.

“It’s powder puff,” said Corker. “It’s powder puff. We have got our nation at stake, and we’re sitting here, you know, yelling at each other, saying things we shouldn’t be saying to each other, that take us nowhere, over powder puff.”

Kerry cites the Congress debate as “an embarrassing moment for the Congress of the United States.”

“(It is) an embarrassing moment for, I think, the American people, who have to watch their Congress struggling to do what we were sent here to do, which is compromise and find a way to do the business of our country,” said Kerry.

The consensus reached late on Friday, April 8 was that, the funding for Planned Parenthood will not be touched; however, a vote will later take place to determine future funding, Politico details.

While Congress breaks from their week-long debate, Planned Parenthood and those who rely on their services wait to see their future outcome.