Planned Parenthood Research

In Texas, a Planned Parenthood has been under investigation on several accounts; however, it has been announced that it has been cleared after the two-month-long investigation. There were two people who were involved in making secret videos of the group and the videos were released to the public. David Daleiden was indicted on the account of the buying and selling human organs and Sandra Merritt was indicted for tampering with governmental record. A warrant for Daleiden was issued this past Monday. A spokesperson from Planned Parenthood stated, "We respect the processes of the Harris County District Attorney, and note that buying fetal tissue requires a seller as well. Planned Parenthood still cannot deny the admissions from their leadership about fetal organ sales captured on video for all the world to see.” The Planned Parenthood organization wants everyone to know they had not partaken in the actions that the two individuals did.

Planned Parenthood wants Disney to create a princess who had had an abortion and is pro-choice, according to the Daily Wire.

(A) Let’s take a moment to imagine an ice cream shop. (B) It provides many different flavors, flavors that are really good, but there is one flavor that some people just don’t like. You wouldn’t try to shut down the whole ice cream shop simply because one flavor displeases you. If you really didn’t like that flavor, just avoid it. Simply because that flavor is available to you doesn’t mean you have to get it, maybe somebody else really wants that ice cream flavor, it is not up to you to tell them “I do not like that flavor, therefore I want it to be unavailable to you.” (C) Taking down the ice cream shop is just ridiculous, and would definitely ruin more lives than it would benefit. (D) In the same fashion, fighting to defund Planned Parenthood

There are many people who would agree with Sanders, and her generosity to find ways for women and even men in need of proper health care. There are tons of groups and organizations that strive to keep planned parenthood running. Social media takes a big part of advocating for Planned Parenthood. Whether it’s hash tagging #StandwithPP or promoting events advocating for the organization. Groups such as Organize + Action, and Move Forward Staten Island host festivals with all proceeds going towards Planned Parenthood in order make their community stronger. Another big and major organization that stands with Planned Parenthood is Women’s March. Their motto is “Believing that Women’s Rights are Human Rights and Human Rights are Women’s Rights” (Women’s March.)

One major weakness that the organization has is the controversy related to the duties of this company, regardless of the positive appeal, it has on those who want to be educated on sexual reproductive health among other reproductive health services. The organization has also been branded as an abortion factory. Some public members are so against the practice of abortion that often one will find a crowd outside one the company’s offices protesting against abortion. The company, on the other hand, has not come out strongly to defend itself and instead has used blogs and articles that only highlight the primary functions of the organization. In some of the articles Planned Parenthood has defended itself, that abortion amounts to the lest percentage of their duties, while in another reports the organization has stressed that it upholds its duties equally and there is no duty greater than the other. Therefore, it was difficult to get a clear and definite answer concerning the practice of abortion.

For my analysis I thought it would be interesting to look at the role of sex education and its importance within the Reproductive Justice narrative. I decided that I would talk to a group of friends about their middle school and high school sex education process so that I could get a better understanding of the wide range of sex education in America — or lack thereof in some cases. I conducted the interview in a group setting, as I thought it would be beneficial for everyone to compare their own experiences, while also listening to the similarities and differences within them. The first and second friend I interviewed had what I believe to be a typical high school sex education. Their classes touched upon things such as STI’s and safe sex practices, or more specifically the use of condoms.

In 2005, nearly half of all high school students have had sexual intercourse. Plainly stating that abstinence programs do not work (USA Today). Abstinence programs were beneficial many years ago, but since they are ineffective in delaying teen pregnancy, then teen pregnancy rate has increased. Abstinence programs teach the “no sex until marriage” clause, but they don’t teach teens about birth control and the consequences of having sex at before they’ve matured. Although many studies argue that abstinence programs are educational and beneficial, other studies will show that they don’t delay teen sex, they don’t prevent the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and are a waste of taxpayers’

I see many Facebook statuses about Planned Parenthood these days. At times, I find them amusing, but the rants can be ridiculous and annoying. Some go to such lengths as comparing PP and abortion to Holocaust. Please, these kinds of arguments are offensive to me having some Jewish ancestry, the holocaust itself, and to critical thinking. I have always been an admirer of the greatest principle and a privilege many western countries and US has; separation of church and state. I wonder why some really don't seem to appreciate this fact, and try to impose their religious and moral beliefs on others, and or want them to influence public and social policies. There was a time that religion had too much influence over everything in Europe. It was called

Texas is reputable for implementing abstinence only sex education. About 60% of public schools only teach this curriculum (Howell). This leaves thousands of students of various ages with an altered view of sex and insufficient information on safe sex practice and contraception. This program has also proved itself ineffective because Texas ranks fifth highest nationally in teen birth rates with 41 births per 1,000 women (Howell). 4 out of 5 adolescent pregnancies are unintended” (Gelfond, 597).Abstinence only programs have failed because they do not prevent or even educate students about safe sex practices, contraception, and Texas still remains in the forerunner for highest rates of STDs and teen pregnancy.

This is crucial considering the STD rates amongst teenagers. Roughly half of the new STD cases are solely teenagers (aged 15-24) in low-income areas (Kirby, 145). Along with the fear of STDs, which are still becoming more common, teenage pregnancy rates are also a major fear that seems to promote the abstinence only education. The United States is among the highest teenage pregnancy rates in comparison to European nations who implement a comprehensive sexual education system (Stanger-Hall et al.,

Imagine you’re sitting in your OBGYN office and they recommend putting you on birth control due to your periods being bad and you panic because you have little idea as to what they are putting you on because no one has talked to you about it. You understand that it will help with your periods and from what you can infer you also know that it will help preventing unwanted pregnancies, however you still sit there and wonder how it prevents pregnancy, how it will help with your periods, and all the side effects that could go along with it. This is what happens when there is only abstinence only education offered. Abstinence only sex education does not lower teen pregnancy, it highers the practice of unsafe sex, and it changes the way women view

Even though these two STDs are treatable with antibiotics, for the majority of people who contract these infections do not experience any symptoms and it can go without treatment for many years. If left untreated chlamydia and gonorrhea can leave the person with devastating consequences like Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, infertility, and other health problems. HIV is another epidemic among adolescents, so much so that young people ages 13 to 24 make up the 1 out of every 4 new HIV infections each year (CDC). Young adults diagnosed with this infectious disease are forced to carry it with them the rest of their lives because as of now it is incurable. HIV is a serious disease that if not treated properly can cause the person to become extremely ill and can even cause death. Herpes is not far behind HIV, with one in every five adolescent and adults become infected and two-thirds of that number are young adults under the age of 25 (Teen Help). This STD is also incurable and secretly lives in the body, leaving the person to only guess when an outbreak will happen. Because “many adolescents underestimate their infection risk and they have mistaken ideas about what protect them from STDs and what does not,” (Brückner 277) many do not take the proper precautions necessary to protect themselves. This leaves “[o]ne third of all sexually active young people [to] become infected with an STD by age

Research-based evaluation of comprehensive programs show that they are just as effective (if not more so) than abstinence-only programs at reducing the age at which sexual activity first occurs, reducing the frequency of sexual activity and number of sexual partners, as well as increasing the use of condoms and contraceptives among adolescents (Advocates for Youth). Researchers at the National Survey of Family Growth found that students who received comprehensive sexuality education were 50 percent less likely to become pregnant than those who received abstinence-only education. Additionally, these studies showed that those who received abstinence-only education were not any more or less likely to abstain from sex until marriage than other students; in at least 13 states, abstinence-only programs were proven to have shown no changes in sexual behavior over time. In addition, public polls routinely report that over 80 percent of Americans citizens would vote in favor of offering comprehensive sex education in high schools, middle schools, and junior high schools; in one such poll, 70 percent of participants opposed abstinence-only programs receiving government funding and 85 percent believed adolescents should learn about birth control and other forms of contraceptives and pregnancy prevention in school (Advocates

Abstinence-only sex education courses do not inform students of the functions and efficacy of contraceptives, as evidenced in a poll of 1,800 young men and women, which showed that “six in 10 underestimated the effectiveness of oral contraceptives.” (Frost, Lindberg, et al.). Unintended pregnancies from lack of understanding of contraceptives is the most prominent impact the current sex education curriculum is having. With the highest proportion of unplanned pregnancies being 98% and belonging to teenagers, the impact the improper sex education has is straightforward (Unintended Pregnancy Prevention). Unplanned teenage pregnancies can inhibit the mother’s ability to continue her education, ostracize her from society, and be a significant financial burden on, not only the mother and her family, but American taxpayers, as “teen childbearing costs . . . between $9.4 and $28 billion a year.” (Negative Impacts of Teen Childbearing). Moreover, contraceptive use, specifically condoms, are crucial in preventing the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases. Due to the fact that “nearly half of the 20 million new cases of STD's each year” are attributed to teens and young adults, the teaching of the methods of contraceptive use are not reaching the standard at which they should be (Adolescent Development and STDs). It is vital to the well-being of the students of America’s public school system that they are instructed with accurate information that will protect them from unintended pregnancies and contracting sexually transmitted

Every year in the United States an estimated 19 million people will become infected with a sexually transmitted infection (STD Trends), one in six women and one in thirty-three men will become the victim of sexual assault (Sexual Violence). 9.2% of children in 2010 were the victim of a sexual crime (Child Sexual Abuse) and 229,715 babies in 2015 were born to teenage mothers (Teen Pregnancy) The national epidemic of sexual infections, sexual assault and underage mothers is on the rise in the United States, leaving parents and professionals alike scrambling for answers about why this is happening and how to keep people safe and healthy. There is evidence to believe that the problems the country is facing are starting as early as elementary school. Children in America are not all receiving a form of sexual education, or they are not receiving the same information as their peers (Blackman, Scotti, Heller). In the United States there is currently no requirement to teach sexual education and there are exceedingly few mandates about what should be covered (Blackman, Scotti, Heller). The United States congress must implement and rigorously enforce a mandated and standardized sexual education curriculum in all public schools throughout K-12 education because there is no current system, it will teach children about healthy relationships, and it has been proven to raise the age teenagers begin having sex and lowers pregnancy rates.