From Planned Parenthood’s name, most of America thinks they are all about helping people plan their parenthood. And I’m sure they’d like us all to continue to believe that. Have a baby when you’re ready, no sooner, no later. But is it actually true?
This fall, American Life League released a study of Planned Parenthood. Stop Planned Parenthood researchers analyzed the teen pregnancy rate in 16 counties within the Texas Panhandle. In this area of the country, communities were strongly opposing the presence of Planned Parenthood clinics and as a result, many of those clinics closed. (In fact, from 1999 through 2006, Planned Parenthood of Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle shut down 16 clinics.) By 2008, there wasn’t a Planned Parenthood to be found.
The study concluded that during the same time period that the communities were strongly opposed to Planned Parenthood – 1994-2010 – teen pregnancy rates in these communities dropped. In fact, the study found that the teen pregnancy rate “reached its lowest point in recorded history two years after disaffiliation of the last two remaining facilities.” According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the teen pregnancy rate dropped from 43.6 per 1,000 girls ages 13-17 to 24.1. That’s a drop of over 45%.
The teen pregnancy rate was nearly cut in half as Planned Parenthood left town.
So if Planned Parenthood has a mission of reducing teen pregnancy rates, it would seem as though they are failing miserably. Unless that’s not their mission at all. According to Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League, Planned Parenthood needs teenagers in order to stay in business. He said:
“Based on the retention rates that Planned Parenthood published routinely until the mid-1990s, it consistently lost 43 percent of its customers annually. Today, PPFA [Planned Parenthood Federation of America] is a $1 billion business. The only demographic big enough to furnish that many new customers every year is teens and young adults who engage in frequent sex.”
So while they may claim to be focused on reducing teen pregnancies, the facts say otherwise.
Editor’s Note: To read our entire “Why America Doesn’t Need Planned Parenthood” series, take a look at the following articles, and come back every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for more.
- Above the Law: Why America Doesn’t Need Planned Parenthood
- Lies and Misinformation: Why America Doesn’t Need Planned Parenthood
- Shoddy Science: Why America Doesn’t Need Planned Parenthood
- Civil Rights Violations: Why America Doesn’t Need Planned Parenthood
- Bullying and Coercion: Why America Doesn’t Need Planned Parenthood
- Women Aren’t Safe: Why America Doesn’t Need Planned Parenthood
- Predator of Children: Why America Doesn’t Need Planned Parenthood
