Spring Break
Planned Parenthood serves as an essential resource
Sara Gwin
Issue date: 8/6/08 Section: Forum
In the July 23 issue of The Summer Barometer, my colleague, Dan Fitzpatrick, penned a seething attack on Planned Parenthood - in particular, the new one in the process of being built in Northeast Portland.
Like many other anti-choice zealots, Fitzpatrick equates PP solely with abortion, and even claimed "it sells people contraception that often is ineffective, so when it fails, its customers can return and demand medical treatment."
Fitzpatrick would have us believe that PP exists entirely as a conspiracy; from Margaret Sanger's supposed genocidal roots, people of color are being eradicated through abortions. And to promote more abortions, they sell or give away free birth control so women have to come in to end what her birth control method couldn't prevent.
Planned Parenthood and similar organizations are important because of the impact of the growing abstinence-only-until-marriage education in our school system, coupled with the fact that we live in a nation that is far less open about sexuality than our Western Europe counterparts and about the struggles teens face with the confluence of hitting puberty. With the seeking of independence away from parents, dating, and discovering and exploring sexuality (alone or not), it is no wonder teens may have a lot of questions about the innumerable aspects of sexuality.
It was a short time ago that I was in high school dealing with all those stressors. I remember the struggle with sifting though inaccurate information and outdated ideals of gender roles and expectations, creating boundaries amidst the pressures of peers and my own raging hormones.
At the same time, I saw my friends and acquaintances struggling with the same issues. Some experienced STIs and unplanned pregnancies; others experienced unwanted sexual encounters because they were unsure of how to say no, or their partners didn't take them seriously.
But unlike most high schools, we were lucky enough to have a PP across the street.
Like many other anti-choice zealots, Fitzpatrick equates PP solely with abortion, and even claimed "it sells people contraception that often is ineffective, so when it fails, its customers can return and demand medical treatment."
Fitzpatrick would have us believe that PP exists entirely as a conspiracy; from Margaret Sanger's supposed genocidal roots, people of color are being eradicated through abortions. And to promote more abortions, they sell or give away free birth control so women have to come in to end what her birth control method couldn't prevent.
Planned Parenthood and similar organizations are important because of the impact of the growing abstinence-only-until-marriage education in our school system, coupled with the fact that we live in a nation that is far less open about sexuality than our Western Europe counterparts and about the struggles teens face with the confluence of hitting puberty. With the seeking of independence away from parents, dating, and discovering and exploring sexuality (alone or not), it is no wonder teens may have a lot of questions about the innumerable aspects of sexuality.
It was a short time ago that I was in high school dealing with all those stressors. I remember the struggle with sifting though inaccurate information and outdated ideals of gender roles and expectations, creating boundaries amidst the pressures of peers and my own raging hormones.
At the same time, I saw my friends and acquaintances struggling with the same issues. Some experienced STIs and unplanned pregnancies; others experienced unwanted sexual encounters because they were unsure of how to say no, or their partners didn't take them seriously.
But unlike most high schools, we were lucky enough to have a PP across the street.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 3
Nicole T.
Nicole T.
posted 8/06/08 @ 6:50 PM PST
Sarah,
Thank you so much for being the only one so far willing to provide the "other" view of things. I'm talking about the view that is not Dan Fitzpatrick's. (Continued…)
Lydia
posted 8/13/08 @ 10:00 AM PST
I would argue against the statement that the U.S. is behind our European counterparts regarding the openness to sexuality and sex education. I lived in Europe for half a year recently, and half of my family is first and second-generation European, and I know that the majority of European society is much more traditional/conservative about sexuality. (Continued…)
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