On April 11, a “Dear Abby” column highlighted a huge misconception about Planned Parenthood and the “services” they provide to women. A 16-year-old known as “uncertain in the south” wrote Abby looking for advice on how to proceed after finding out she’s pregnant. The teen explains that she hasn’t told her father yet because she’s afraid he’ll make her have an abortion.
She writes, “I have had a very strained relationship with my father for many years. My mother and I are not close because she was incarcerated for most of my life until recently. I am 16 now, and just found out I’m pregnant. No one knows except the father of my child. For some reason, he is thrilled for us. I, on the other hand, am terrified of the uncertainties.
I know what my father will say. He will want me to get an abortion, but I would never choose that for myself or for my baby. My mother is struggling since she was released from prison and is still trying to get on her feet. I live with my grandparents, who don’t have the means to support a child. It seems like my only option is to move in with my boyfriend and his family while I finish school and then get a job. Please give me an unbiased perspective.”
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Initially, Abby’s advice is decent. She tells the teen that she should tell her father because she may need his help and that he can’t force her to have an abortion. But then, Abby tells her to go to Planned Parenthood. She say’s, “You must also be sure to have the best prenatal care possible, so your child will be born healthy. Planned Parenthood has clinics where this care is offered, and you should contact it as soon as possible. If you check its website, www.plannedparenthood.org, you will also find information about adoption.”
Planned Parenthood is not the place to go to receive prenatal care or to find out more about adoption. As LifeNews previously reported, over the past three reported years (2011-2013), Planned Parenthood has performed nearly one million abortions (988,783). In 2013, abortions made up 94% of Planned Parenthood’s pregnancy services, while prenatal care and adoption referrals accounted for only 5% (18,684).
Additionally, former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson revealed that the abortion business wants to eliminate prenatal care from their services entirely.
In 2012, she wrote, “I was surprised to hear that one of the changes involved the elimination of prenatal care. My affiliate didn’t provide prenatal care, but I knew that several affiliates did. I had heard the [Planned Parenthood] Federation boast about its prenatal services when pro-life groups criticized us for the amount of abortions we provided. It turned out that PPFA decided to eliminate all Planned Parenthood Affiliates’ prenatal programs because “the prenatal patients were too cumbersome,” as a PPFA representative stated at our meeting. PPFA representatives went on to explain that women receiving pre-natal care required too many visits, had too many questions, and simply called the clinic too many times.”
Furthermore, for every adoption referral Planned Parenthood hands out, they perform 174 abortions. Clearly, this organization will not help “uncertain in the south” weigh her options well or provide her with quality prenatal care. Instead of going to Planned Parenthood, the teen should go to one of the 2,500-Pregnancy Care Centers in the country to receive scientifically accurate, truthful information about her pregnancy as well as find out where she can receive the best prenatal care possible.
