Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), which is widely known as Planned Parenthood is one of the most well known and controversial health care providers throughout the nation. Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that provides healthcare and family planning services. Young adults are able to confidently gain information on subjects such as sex education from the organization which holds the record of the nation's leading sexual and reproductive health care provider and advocate. The most controversial practice Planned Parenthood is known for is giving young women the option of abortion. The organization receives funding from the government in order to aid in the practice the services in which they provide. Although some groups believe that funding this organization is morally wrong due to abortions. Critics against Planned Parenthood claim the government should defund this organization because of the certain services they provide for people.

In 1916, a woman named Margaret Sanger was a nurse and a daughter to a mother of eleven children which caused her mother's health to become fragile over time, additionally endured seven miscarriages as well as dying at age fifty due to tuberculosis.Sanger's mother's history with reproducing as well as working in the field of nursing at the time enlightened her. She set journey to Europe to study birth control strategies while America deemed the education on birth control illegal (Planned). On October 16, 1916, Sanger and her sister Ethel Byrne as well as activist Fania Mindell united together in order to create the nations first birth control clinic which opened its doors in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

Thousands of women raced to line up in order to receive birth control education as well as advice. Almost a week later, authorities had descended upon the clinic and charged the three women with crimes which were related to sharing information on birth control. Sanger had refused to pay the charges because she deemed the charges as immoral and resulted in spending a month in jail where she had ended up educating her fellow prisoners on birth control at the time. Even though the clinic itself was terminated Sanger's dream remained well and alive. She traveled throughout the country and educated women on birth control in addition to sharing her vision for women. This was the start of the revolution for Planned Parenthood.

In 1923, Sanger had established the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau in Manhattan to provide women with birth control as well as to deduct research on the statistics about birth control itself. During the year, she had also established the American Birth Control League which was an enlightened organization that investigated the impact revolving around statistics on reproduction and how America was affected by it. Eventually, the two organizations combined to officially revive Planned Parenthood. In 1936 a court ruling was held for Sanger's organization as well as reconstructing the law of illegally distributing birth control into making the distribution and education of birth control legal in New York and Vermont. These rights were prolonged for an extended thirty years for the rights to become legal all throughout America. This was the most historic step for birth control in history.

Since Planned Parenthood was had gotten high demands for birth control, it only made sense to perfect the pill as much as possible. In 1956, the very first human experimentation on specifically the birth control pill was tested in Puerto Rico. This experiment was crucial to the development of the pill. However, the women who were being tested on were not given consent which is today considered morally dis-satisfying as well as illegal. These women experienced increased hormone levels twenty times compared to today's pill's levels. None of the women testified against the experiments and the research continued to redefine and near perfect the pill in order for it to complete what if was originally meant for. Today, the pill is the number one method used by women, Seventy-two percent of women who practice contraception currently use non permanent methods”primarily hormonal methods (i.e., the pill, patch, implant, injectable and vaginal ring), IUDs and condoms. The rest rely on female (22%) or male (7%) sterilization (Contraceptive). Planned Parenthood was also the first to give women the choice of abortion which soon led to legal disputes.

The freedom women were starting to have for their bodies with having abortions and birth control readily available for them eventually led to outraged pro life activists and conservatives who back lashed at women for having these practices. Extreme fundamentalists held campaigns of patient intimidation as well as conducting acts of violence which involved murder against abortion providers. Health centers were also under attack from bombings and arsons. Political views soon swept the nation in the late seventies. In 1992, the Supreme Court created the constitutional right to allow states to uphold their own regulations on abortion.

This made it difficult for women to receive abortions when desired and created queue times which were held for days. Yet, throughout these difficult times Planned Parenthood remained stood as indestructible and kept their loyalty as well as commitment to their patients in order to continue to change the perspectives on abortion and birth control, Throughout the 1990s, Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health experts successfully advocated for FDA approval of new, effective methods of birth control ” including the birth control shot, the ring, the patch, and the implant. In 1999, the FDA approved Plan B emergency contraception, and Planned Parenthood began work to make emergency contraception widely available at its health centers and educate the public about emergency contraception, also known as the morning-after pill. In 1996, Planned Parenthood launched their official website which made expert medical and sexual health information easily accessible for everyone. Today, 76 million people reach Planned Parenthood online every year (Planned).

Today, Planned Parenthood has stabilized a positive reputation regarding the past as well as current controversies against them by providing quality care for its patients and several other services they additionally offer. Planned Parenthood has also included male sex education as well as ?birth control' methods for men. For female clients Planned Parenthood offers eleven different birth control methods such as STI/HIV testing and gynecological care for clients who are interested in such. Additionally, for male clients they offer screening for testicular cancer, testing as well as treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and HIV testing. Planned Parenthood has became completely transparent by providing statistics, information, donations, volunteering, and much more on their official website for not only their patients, yet is open to the public as well.

In my opinion, political figures have distorted the image of Planned Parenthood. Over time, people were beginning to believe that Planned Parenthood is primarily for abortions due to such pro life political figures spreading false information when in fact, abortions are only three percent of all the services they provide. In Planned Parenthood's 2016 Affiliate Medical Services Data 47% of their services was for STI testing as well as treatment. Following right after with 28% was contraceptives (Evans).
Planned Parenthood's marketing is held with campaigns to create awareness for people to know what they have available to them, Planned

Parenthood is the nation's leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the U.S.'s largest provider of sex education. On campuses and online, in schools and community settings, in health centers, and in the media, Planned Parenthood is a visible and reliable source of expert reproductive and sexual health care, education, and information. We do this work because we're passionate about helping people lead healthier lives (Planned). Since the organization is nonprofit they focus on spreading awareness across the nation and providing services to those in need.

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