Opinion: Why Planned Parenthood is about so much more than abortions – Eastern Echo

Planned Parenthood is a hot topic of discussion in the pro-life vs. pro-choice discussion. However, Planned Parenthood is not just about their abortion clinics. They offer countless resources for health and wellness for both men and women.

One of the most important aspects of Planned Parenthood is their cancer screenings. The American Cancer Society estimates that over 22,000 women will receive an ovarian cancer diagnosis, and around 10,000 men will receive a testicular cancer diagnosis in 2019. Planned Parenthood offers free cancer screenings for breast, cervical, testicular and ovarian cancers. For many people, this would be the only way they can afford to get this screening that could save their lives.

They also offer free contraception to those who could not afford them otherwise. Condoms and birth control are offered for free, or at least at a very low cost. The organizations hard work to make contraception available can lower the amount of abortions, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STD). On top of offering easily accessible contraception, they also treat existing STDs.

Planned Parenthood teams up with countless doctors, nurses, physicians, social workers and counselors to provide the best care for their patients. Vaccines, sterilization procedures and health check-ups are some of the many services offered by Planned Parenthood. Alongside medical services, there are birthing classes, accurate sex education classes, pregnancy preparation and other classes available. Again, these services are offered at a lower cost than the usual rate, or completely free.

They also do their own part to help the LGBTQ+ community. Planned Parenthood offers hormone replacement therapy for transgender patients, which helps to avoid gender dysphoria. On top of that, they do frequent HIV/AIDS screenings and treatments. Their sex education programs also include LGBTQ+ content, which most modern programs do not. Educating people correctly can make more of a difference than you may think.

People across the globe are trying to get rid of Planned Parenthood because of the pro-life vs. pro-choice debate. Many of these people fail to realize just how much this organization offers and how they offer it. In an article by Abby Attia on myheritage.org, Attia writes, Planned Parenthood emphasizes abortions instead of preventative care. However, when looking on plannedparenthood.org, nothing about abortion is even mentioned upfront and you have to actively search for the pages related to the topic.These lies are what leads to the negative stigma about Planned Parenthood and ultimately leads to shutting them down.

Without Planned Parenthood, millions of people would be left without their necessary healthcare. This organization is more than just an abortion clinic. To take down Planned Parenthood would be similar to taking down several hospitals across the country just because. We need to do our part to make sure Planned Parenthood sticks around and that it is available for all people to use.

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Opinion: Why Planned Parenthood is about so much more than abortions - Eastern Echo