Kuberski 1

Brynne Kuberski

Professor Kelleher

EN 102-007

16 April 2018

Positively Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood is the leading reproductive health care organizations for women in

the United States, especially for impoverished women. Although Planned Parenthood is mainly

for women, they also offer men’s health services. Planned Parenthood also provides services to

12 other clinics globally. Planned Parenthood opened in 1921 under Margaret Sanger, where it

was formally called the Birth Control League (“100 Years Strong”). Planned Parenthood

provides preventative health care testing such as mammograms, HIV and STD testing, pap

smears, and all other necessary health care testing for reproductive health. Planned Parenthood

believes that all women, regardless of income or social status, deserve to have these types of

treatments provided to them. Planned Parenthood was designed to treat all women and their

families with the utmost of care, but the controversial topic of abortion is always brought into the

equation. When it comes to abortion, the government tends to say that they will defund the entire

Planned Parenthood organization solely based on the fact that they perform abortions. Despite

views on abortion, Planned Parenthood benefits women, and even men, all over the world in
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regard to reproductive healthcare services.

To start off researching Planned Parenthood, it was beneficial to research a few reasons

and conflicts women face to explain why they would need an abortion. One of the leading

reasons for abortions is because women cannot afford birth control costs, either because they do

not have insurance, or because birth control costs are outrageously high. In an article published

by U.S. News & World Report, author Susan Milligan gives insight on how the government is

enforcing stricter abortion laws while refusing to fund forms of birth control. In addition to all of

this negative for women’s reproductive rights, the Trump administration wants to defund

Planned Parenthood. This means that Trump wants to completely take away Planned Parenthood

and any federal funding just because they perform abortions. It is important to clarify that these

abortions are completely legal and safe. However, states like Oregon are fighting back for

women’s reproductive healthcare rights. Oregon fighting back for women is just a small step in

ending the fight for women to be able to choose what is done to their body. The Trump

administration has not been successful in defunding Planned Parenthood thus far, and will not be
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successful if more states continue to fight for Planned Parenthood and the overwhelming good it

does for women, men, and their families.

In researching Planned Parenthood and their abortion services, it was also necessary to

find the effect it has on the American people. In a poll conducted by Statista in 2015, one of the

most popular Twitter conversations, in regard to how many mentions it got by the millions, was

abortion and Planned Parenthood. The most interesting part was that abortion was mentioned

WITH Planned Parenthood(Gallup). Why would an organization that provides a variety of health

services for men and women be only connected to abortion? This statistic goes to show that

literally millions of people are not quite aware of all the other good that Planned Parenthood does

and it goes unnoticed. The Statista poll also proves that since so many people are talking about, it

is one of the most controversial topics in United States politics.

Democrat, pro-choice. Republican, pro-life. It is clear that no political party is pro-

abortion. No matter the political party, it is important to know that the topic of abortion is not

something that is easy to talk about. It’s not black or white and has numerous gray areas
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surrounding its discussion. Planned Parenthood is symbolic of those gray areas that nobody talks

about such as family counseling, alternatives to abortion, and therapists who seek out women

that are unsure of their options. Out of all of the services Planned Parenthood provides to

women, abortion only accounts for 3 percent of their services. Defunding Planned Parenthood

solely because they perform abortions seems immoral.

It is crucial to know that if Planned Parenthood loses their funding, women will seek to

terminate their pregnancies via unsafe, illegal abortions. It does not matter if abortion is illegal or

Planned Parenthood becomes defunded, women can still have abortions done in an unsafe setting

with inadequately trained individuals. Planned Parenthood has made it possible to get a safe,

legal abortion with a simple procedure and trained professionals, unlike unsafe abortions that can

lead to health complications and/or death. Having 12 global Planned Parenthood locations

decreases the mortality rate in women around the world where abortion is illegal. It is safe to say

that, although some disagree on abortions, Planned Parenthood allows for safe and legal

abortions to happen so that women don’t risk their health in the United States and around the

world. Not only is it better to get an abortion in a sterile environment, but it is more relaxed and

non-judgmental at a Planned Parenthood clinic. With that being said, Planned Parenthood, once

again proves that they will help women get the reproductive help they need safely, without

judgement, and with educational services so other options can be discussed.

The fight for women’s reproductive rights has been a grueling once, especially when

talking about Planned Parenthood. In a journal article published by Dawn Laguens, the

Executive Vice President and Chief Experience Officer at Planned Parenthood, she claims that

Americans, particularly younger Americans, believe that politicians should not get to determine

abortions. This claim is supported by the sole reason that choosing to end a pregnancy is an
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extremely personal decision. Laguens believes that with the help of the health care providers, the

woman’s family, and the woman herself, that is all that is needed to come to a decision. This

article is supportive of the aforementioned gray areas that Planned Parenthood deals with.

Laguens suggests that the abortion conversation needs to be more empathetic, instead of shaming

even the idea of it. The most important idea Laguens writes about is that the people need to stop

putting “pro” or “anti” into categories. Instead, the main goal is to end the stigma behind

abortion and be more empathetic in understanding these women’s circumstances.

To understand the effects that Planned Parenthood has had on women, looking into

stories of women who had went to Planned Parenthood, feeling scared and/ or alone, was

beneficial in researching. On the Planned Parenthood website, there is hundreds of stories, and

not just ones that are abortion-related. A woman named Colleen, shared her story about how

Planned Parenthood discovered that she had stage two breast cancer. In another story, Shannon’s

story, she shares that no other healthcare professionals took her endometriosis seriously. Planned

Parenthood took her seriously, and because of that, Shannon is now able to conceive a child.

These millions of stories that women bravely share proves that Planned Parenthood positively

benefits women in every aspect of reproductive and preventative health care. In Colleen’s case,
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Planned Parenthood essentially saved her life(“Share Your Story).

Although there are many Americans arguing that Planned Parenthood positively impacts

women around the world, there are also those Americans that only see Planned Parenthood as a

“center for abortions.” According to a poll on Statista conducted in 2017, 43 percent of

Americans deemed abortion to be morally acceptable, while 49 percent of Americans deemed

abortion to be morally wrong. There was also an option of “depends on the situation,” which

resulted in 7 percent, and a “no opinion” stance which succumbed to 2 percent of the

participants. This poll only shows whether Americans think that abortion is morally right or

wrong, and not anything about Planned Parenthood(Gallup). However, knowing these statistics,

these particular Americans would more than likely be against abortions at Planned Parenthood

clinics as well.

Despite views on abortion, Planned Parenthood benefits women, and even men, all over

the world in regard to reproductive healthcare services. In years to come, and possibly for many

years to come, Planned Parenthood performing abortions will remain a relevant topic. There will
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always be opinions about Planned Parenthood and whether or not the American people or

politicians support their abortion practices. All political views and opinions aside, Planned

Parenthood will always be there supporting women’s needs and understanding their

circumstances. With abortions being only 3 percent of all of their services, the other 97 percent

of positive health care impacts far outweigh the negative backlashes of abortion.
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Works Cited

Gallup. "Do You Think That Having An Abortion Is Morally Acceptable or Morally Wrong?

." Statista - The Statistics Portal, Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/218522/americans-

moral-stance-towards-abortion/, Accessed 16 Apr 2018

Laguens, Dawn. “Planned Parenthood and the Next Generation of Feminist Activists.” Feminist

Studies, vol. 39, no. 1, 2013, pp. 187–191. JSTOR, JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/23719309.

Milligan, Susan. "States Forge Ahead on Abortion and Birth Control Legislation." The Report,

from U.S. News & World Report, 11 Aug. 2017. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A500506520/OVIC?u=tusc49521&xid=54a6afc7.

Accessed 27 Feb. 2018.

Parenthood, Planned. “Share Your Story | How Planned Parenthood Has Helped People.”

Planned Parenthood,

www.plannedparenthood.org/get-involved/share-your-story.

"Political Attacks on Planned Parenthood Are a Threat to Women's Health." Women's Health,

edited by Lynn M. Zott, Greenhaven Press, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010922209/OVIC?u=tusc49521&xid=03306473.
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Accessed 28 Feb. 2018. Originally published in Scientific American, vol. 30, no. 6, 1

June 2012.

Various sources (Echelon Insights). "Most Popular Subjects of Conversation on Twitter in The

United States in 2015, Based on Total Number of Mentions (in Millions)." Statista - The

Statistics Portal, Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/499792/top-subjects-of-

conversation-on-twitter-us/, Accessed 7 Mar 2018