Planned Parenthood seeks to provide “comprehensive” sex education to teens.
This means that they are not willing to support abstinence-only education programs.
The main goal of Planned Parenthood’ s First Things First campaign is to reduce the number of teens that become pregnant and give birth by half [1]. In other words, Planned Parenthood appears to be more concerned with preventing live births, and not the sexual activity that actually leads to pregnancy.
So, a key component of Planned Parenthood’s strategy is to reduce the number of children born by increasing the number of abortions performed [2].
In fact, Planned Parenthood strongly opposes all attempts for abstinence-only education [3]. It attempts to put the blame of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases on abstinence education [4].
Planned Parenthood claims to be an effective resource for helping teens make responsible decisions about lifestyles, relationships, and sex [5]. Its website (receiving over 10 million hits each year) emphasizes its confidentiality.
In 2009, Planned Parenthood reached the highest levels of spending on sex education. It reports spending $52.8 million, up $2.3 million from 2008 [6]. Over the past ten years, Planned Parenthood has almost doubled its expenditure on sex education [7].
Why?
Because their ideas on education are failing, and by pumping more (federally funded taxpayer) money into the education program, Planned Parenthood is hoping to make it more successful. But so far, it has not.
The only 100% effective way to prevent unwanted pregnancy is abstinence from sex.
Planned Parenthood offers increased services, but does not aim to eliminate the cause of pregnancy. It seems possible that Planned Parenthood does not want to prevent sex because its business would collapse if it did. Planned Parenthood would lose clients, funding and profits.
This is just one more instance in which Planned Parenthood puts its own interests ahead of the wellness of the women in our society.
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References
[1] Life Decisions International (2008). “Basic Facts About Planned Parenthood.” Life Decisions International, 2008. Web. 11 Jun 2011. http://www.fightpp.org/show.cfm?page=basic
[2] Pence, Mike. (2011). “Battling Big Abortion.” National Review Online. National Review Online, 31 Mar 2011. Web. 11 Jun 2011. http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/263454/battling-big-abortion-rep-mike-pence
[3] Planned Parenthood. (2011). “Abstinence-Only Programs.” Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 2011. Web. 11 Jun 2011. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/resources/research-papers/abstinence-6236.htm
[4] Life Decisions International 2008
[5] Planned Parenthood. (2011). “Who We Are.” Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 2011. Web. 11 Jun 2011. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are-4648.htm
[6] Planned Parenthood. (2011). “Planned Parenthood Services.” Katharine Dexter McCormick Library , Apr 2011. Web. 11 Jun 2011.
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/PP_Services.pdf
[7] American Life League. (2010). “In this Issue.” American Life League, 27 Dec 2010. Web. 11 Jun 2011. http://www.all.org/article/index/id/ODI5Ng
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Image from The New Mexico Independent