Would you ever consider handing the keys of a shiny new car over to your 16 year old without first giving them some extensive lessons on safety and basic operation of a vehicle? Of course you wouldn’t. Would accidents still happen regardless of the amount of preparedness? Sure they would. Despite those things, I believe we can all agree that with proper education and safety measures intact, we can greatly reduce the number of accidents than if those preventative measures were not in place.
Try and explain that logic to the Tea-Partying GOP when it comes to sex education and the importance of Planned Parenthood funding. These religious ideologues, and those who fall in line with their beliefs, will claim that it is the parents’ responsibility to educate their children about such things. Well, guess what? Planned Parenthood agrees 100%. Planned Parenthood would like to work hand-in-hand with parents and the school in order to give your child a more comprehensive sexual education experience.
According to a poll conducted by National Public Radio, the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Kennedy School of Government, more than 90% of parents support sex education in schools. Another 93% of parents found that the sex education programs in their children’s schools were helpful. With our country facing?over 750,000 teen pregnancies every year and 80% of those being unintended, I would dare say we could use all the help we can get.? Not everyone is convinced that sex education, contraception, and access to medically-sound abortions actually assist in lowering the numbers of unintended pregnancies, though. I could give you actual quotes and articles in which these claims are made, but I cannot bring myself to give this stance anymore traction than it currently has.
If you find it hard to believe that these positions exist and that they have a following, a simple Google search will provide all the proof you need. So, now that we have established that there is a need and a desire for sex education on a broader scope outside the home, let’s take a look at how Planned Parenthood is exactly what we can use to fill those needs. Some conservative types would have you believe that Planned Parenthood and those who support it are a clan of baby-hating terrorists who stand outside of abortion clinics chanting, “another one bites the dust” and popping bottles of champagne whenever an abortion procedure is performed. That may sound harsh to you, but the anti-choice crowd employs some pretty harsh tactics at times themselves and it goes far beyond words. They truly would have you think that anyone would celebrate a situation in which abortion is the last resort.
But besides all of that, Planned Parenthood is so much more than what you are aware os. If you see nothing else before or after this statement, please see this: 90%, yes, that’s right, 90% of ALL the services provided by Planned Parenthood are preventative, primary care. These services help prevent unintended pregnancies through contraception, reduce the spread of STDs through testing and treatment, and screen for cervical and other cancers. This is not to mention the amount of effort poured into educating about not just sex but all of the things that can?fall under that umbrella. They are helping teach your children and others how to handle and safely operate that “shiny new car” (otherwise known as sexual and reproductive organs) so as not to get pregnant in the first place. Does Planned Parenthood facilitate abortions also? Absolutely, and thank goodness we, as women especially, have that option as a last resort when all other choices are exhausted. In the instance that a woman has made that difficult decision to abort, I can promise you she did not come to that conclusion lightly over brunch with not a second thought. TO DO:
- Pick up dry cleaning
- Get take out for dinner
- Run by women’s clinic and terminate my pregnancy
Sounds a bit ridiculous I know, but because this topic is a taboo one, ignorance runs rampant. The point is that no matter what ?reasons a woman may have, they are hers to weigh. Planned Parenthood is not pro-abortionist, they are pro-choice, pro-informed choice. Now that we know what Planned Parenthood does and that it is a wanted and needed resource, let’s see if it is accomplishing its goal of preventative, primary care through contraception, testing, and education. Facts do not lie. It is proven time and time again that providing free contraception to those most at risk for unwanted pregnancy drastically reduces the number of them, and in turn the number of abortions and sexually transmitted diseases.
A study labeled The Contraceptive Choice Project was conducted by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. This study gave 9,256 women and teens–from 14 to 45 years of age who were low income and considered to be at a higher risk for unintended pregnancy–access to free birth control from 2007 to 2011. I bet the results will not surprise you. The annual birth rate among teenage girls in the study was only 6.3 per 1,000 as compared to the U.S. rate of 34.3 per 1,000 girls of the same age.
Let’s hit the pause button for just a second. I think people do enjoy a good statistic to support their claim, but do we really need statistics when we are dealing with common sense? If your answer to that is yes then I have provided some articles to further back up the notion that access to birth control lowers the number of unintended pregnancies, otherwise, I will assume that you will be giving your child driving lessons before handing over the keys.
Edited/Published by: SB
