Plencner 1
Gregory Plencner
Professor Yelena K. Bailey-Kirby
English 102 section 1010
9 November 2015
Planned Parenthood
Pro-Life or pro-choice, two terms that seem to be an ongoing debate of the society today
in the United States. Planned Parenthood is a very controversial topic as of lately in terms of
these two phrases. There seems to be a good chunk of society that believes Planned Parenthood
is just an abortion clinic. According to Martin O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland,
states, “97% of all Planned Parenthood services are non-abortion related, and in reality decrease
the risk of an unwanted pregnancy.” By Planned Parenthood consistently being funded
individuals will be able to continue decreasing the risk of an unwanted pregnancy, prevent the
risk of sexually transmitted diseases, and being provided proper cancer detecting tests for a better
and healthier lifestyle although the opposing side disagrees with these reasons and stance.
Planned Parenthood assists a lot with decreasing the risk for an unwanted pregnancy.
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s show a 40 percent drop in the
U.S. teen pregnancy rate from 1990 to 2008 (“U.S. Teen Pregnancy Rate Reaches Historic
Low”
).
Planned Parenthood strives to prevent an unwanted pregnancy and does so by assisting in
the use of birth control prescriptions and the proper use of condoms. According to Planned
Parenthood, they have educated more than 1.1 million people and has given out birth control to
more than two million people (Planned Parenthood at a Glance). Data acquired from government
files shows a teen population of about 13,000 teen pregnancies fell from 544 per year to 373 in
the past five years (Skojec). A study conducted of data from the Texas Department of State
Plencner 2
Health Services, Vital Statistics Annual Report, Table 14B, for the years 1994 through 2010: “In
1996, the year before opposition to Planned Parenthood began, the average teen pregnancy rate
in the 16 counties where Planned Parenthood operated facilities was 43.6 per 1,000 girls aged 13
to 17. By 2002, the rate had dropped to 28.6. In 2008, the year the last two Planned Parenthood
facilities disaffiliated from PPFA, the teen pregnancy rate was 27.2. And in 2010, two years after
the Texas Panhandle became Planned Parenthood-free, the teen pregnancy rate had fallen to
24.1” (Skojec). According to Mordecai, a supporter of women's rights and reproductive freedom
says, “Women have a constitutional right to get an abortion, and it is not a major piece of their
services anyways” (Mordecai). Society is pro-life or pro-choice, and it is the women’s right to
get an abortion if they want to. Planned Parenthood is there to assist in an abortion, but they are
also there to prevent and reduce the risk of abortions. Individuals also have said they want to
defund Planned Parenthood due to tax dollars and federal funding paying for abortions.
