More than half of all people will have a sexually transmitted disease in their lifetime(Statistics). In 2014, over 240,000 babies were born from women only ranging the ages of fifteen to nineteen years (About). These numbers are only increasing as the years do. However, the creators of Planned Parenthood intend to lower these numbers. By educating individuals about sexually transmitted diseases, women’s and men’s health, pregnancy and finding options for pregnant women that are not able to care for a child, Planned Parenthood benefits the community in great ways. Planned Parenthood attempts to keep their services affordable to all, regardless of income or job status.
However, due to the lack of funding from the government, Planned Parenthood is forced to increase prices for services. This lessens the number of individuals that they are able to help and guide. Soon, Planned Parenthood will not be able to educate or assist as many individuals as they currently do. While others may say that they do not want their tax money being used to fund an organization that performs abortions, this organization extends beyond that. The government should continue to fund Planned Parenthood because of the many ways that Planned Parenthood benefits individuals in the United States.
Planned Parenthood educates many people in many different ways. This organization strives to help individuals seeking their assistance. In many instances, the best way to help someone is to educate them. Planned Parenthood “provides 4,970,000 people worldwide with sexual and reproductive health care and education yearly” (Evans). Planned Parenthood reaches to educate individuals about sexually transmitted diseases and the statistics and facts of them. They inform individuals how to avoid diseases and the steps to take if one does contract a sexually transmitted disease.
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Over forty-five percent of the organizations services were dedicated to testing and treating sexually transmitted diseases (Evans). There are many young men and women who feel “Shame is a huge obstacle to effective communication on these topics between teens and their parents” (Drwal). Many younger adults do not feel comfortable asking or discussing sex or the consequences of sex with their parents. Therefore, many men and women are not educated enough to understand the risks of sex.
Also, Planned Parenthood helps to educate people about women’s health. They often speak on women’s bodies and the health and conditions of women. Many women are able to make appointments with the organization to insure that their bodies are healthy and well. Women also go to clinics if they feel that their body may be behaving differently than normal. However, they don’t stop at just helping women. They also educate and provide many services for men as well.
In 2014, “Planned Parenthoods nationwide provided vasectomies to 3,445 men” (Evans). Therefore, this organization seeks to assist and guide many different individuals, regardless of gender, race or any other factor that may cause discrimination. Not only this, but Planned Parenthood seeks to educate individuals about pregnancy and how to take care of one’s body while pregnant or nursing. Planned Parenthood is vital in educating people about their bodies and how to take care of them.
Planned Parenthood also assists women in their paths during pregnancy. This includes women that want to, and are able to, keep their child, and women who wish to explore other options. While many people believe that Planned Parenthood only performs abortions, they do much more than this. If a woman is pregnant and feels as though she is unable to provide a healthy and positive environment for her child, Planned Parenthood helps the woman explore other options.
The organization assists women in an adoption process as well. Many women may feel as though adoption is giving their child away, they feel as though they cannot trust whom their child may end up living with. However, with the help and guidance of Planned Parenthood, the parents can be assured that the process will be both beneficial to them and their child.
The parents have their minds put at ease, knowing that they are able to trust the environment that their child will be living in. There are many children that live with parents who are unable to give them the appropriate amount of attention and affection that they need. Some parents are unable to provide a healthy environment for their children because they possibly are unable to afford it. Some parents may not be mentally or emotionally mature enough to show attention and affection, which is vital to a child’s growth.
“Roughly 75 percent of Planned Parenthood’s patients have income at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level” (Evans). Many of the patients are unable to bare the financial aspect of a child. If a child is born into an unprepared and low-income family, the child’s environment may not be as beneficial to them as it could be. Assuring that children are given a safe home will prevent many children from being born to unprepared parents.
There are many individuals that feel strongly against the controversial topic of abortion. Many also feel that their tax money should not be given to an organization that they feel only performs abortions. However, “abortion accounts for only three percent of the organizations health care services” (Evans). Planned Parenthood has been deemed as an organization that only performs abortions.
And many individuals feel as though these abortions are performed unethically. However, many women who wish to terminate their pregnancy at or before ten weeks are able to take an abortion pill (Parenthood). This prevents any surgical procedure and does not harm the mother. After ten weeks, the mother must have a surgical abortion, otherwise called an in-clinic abortion. Most clinics refuse to perform any type of abortion procedure after twenty-four weeks (How).
However, if the mother’s health is at risk due to the pregnancy, an abortion may be performed. Also, the absence of Planned Parenthood could result in a spike in the numbers of fatal self-induced abortions. “68,000 women die of unsafe abortions annually, making it one of the leading causes of maternal mortality” (Haddad). Of the twenty million unsafe abortions annually performed, “five million [women] will suffer long-term health complications” (Haddad). Having Planned Parenthood provides a safe alternative to these brutal, harmful and deadly procedures.
Planned Parenthood provides many benefits to individuals of all sexes and ages in the United States. Along with providing education about sexually transmitted diseases, they inform individuals about the health of men and women and assist in teaching individuals how to safely take care of their bodies. The loss of Planned Parenthood could result in many problems.
“A study by the Guttmacher Institute found that in the 491 counties where there are currently Planned Parenthood clinics, 103 of them have no other clinics where low-income patients can gain access to affordable contraceptive services” (Evans). So if Planned Parenthood were to be shut down or unable to provide services, many men and women would be left without a clinic that provides the education and services that the organization currently does. This organization is very effective in educating individuals about their health, their bodies, and many other services and guidance.
Planned Parenthood provides many safe and effective alternatives to procedures that would otherwise be harmful and damaging. If Planned Parenthood was unable to provide their many beneficial services, the United States could see a spike in sexually transmitted diseases, self-induced abortions, and children born to unfit parents.
Works Cited
- “About Teen Pregnancy.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Apr. 2016, www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017.
- Evans, Dayna. “9 Things People Get Wrong About Planned Parenthood.” The Cut, nymag.com/thecut/2017/01/misconceptions-about-planned-parenthood.html. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017.
- “How Late in a Pregnancy Can You Get an Abortion?” Planned Parenthood, 12 Mar. 2013, plannedparenthood.tumblr.com/post/45196618274/how-late-in-a-pregnancy-can-you-get-an-abortion. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017.
- Parenthood, Planned. “The Abortion Pill.” Medical Abortion | What Is the Cost?, 8 Mar. 2017, www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion/the-abortion-pill. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017.
- “Statistics.” American Sexual Health Association, www.ashasexualhealth.org/stdsstis/statistics/. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017.
- Drwal, Małgorzata, et al. ‘Prevention of STI and Teenage Pregnancies through Sex Education.’ Polish Journal of Public Health, vol. 126, no. 1, Mar. 2016, pp. 46-49. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1515/pjph-2016-0010.
