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May 23, 2012
Table of Contents

1 Introduction
[F] Obstetrics / Abortion /
Planned Parenthood

Wikipedia

  

Image:Logo plannedparenthood.gif|right|thumbnail|http://plannedparenthood.org/ PPFA Homepage
Planned Parenthoodref|alternatenames is the name of several federations of health clinics that are spread out over the world,(the International Planned Parenthood Federation, various regional federations, as well as country-specific ones) focusing on issues related to reproductive services. It is both a reproductive services provider and a political organization that seeks to advance and preserve the legal status of the services it provides. It is a vocal political advocate of comprehensive sexuality education and holds a pro-choice position on the issue of abortion and expression of sexuality. This article focuses on the Planned Parenthood Federation of America(PPFA).

Facilities


PPFA operates nearly 900 locations in the United States which together offer a variety of services including abortion, cervical exams, testing and treatment for Sexually transmitted disease|sexually transmitted infections, contraceptive services, sexuality education, vasectomies, and more. Not all services are available at all locations.

According to a recent statement from Karen Pearl, interim president of the organization, Planned Parenthood is the "largest source of reproductive health care in the (United States)".ref|petitionletter

History


Planned Parenthood began as the National Birth Control League, which was founded in 1916 under the leadership of Mary Were Dennet, a friend of Margaret Sanger. The organazation was later renamed the American Birth Control League under the direction of Sanger, a birth control and family planning advocate who had been jailed numerous times for breaking New York's Comstock Laws against disseminating birth control information. Sanger had fled to England to avoid arrest at the time the National Birth Control League was founded. The League was influential in liberalizing laws against birth control throughout the 1920s and 1930s before changing its name to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. in 1942.

Stand on political and legal issues


Planned Parenthood has been an extremely vocal advocate of birth control and abortion reforms since the 1940's. The group opposes virtually every "restriction" on abortion, including but not limited to
  • laws requiring parental consent or notification for girls under the age of 18 (or 17 in some states) to have an abortion

  • "informed consent" laws that would require full disclosure of the procedure and possible risks (it should be noted that any surgical procedure and/or drug must fully disclose any possible risks or complications, including surgical and chemical abortions, even without these laws targeting specifically abortions)

  • laws requiring an ultrasound before abortion (though it should be noted that many Planned Parenthood clinics perform ultrasounds, but simply do not require one)

  • laws requring a cool off period (ranging from a couple hours to a day or more)



Planned Parenthood also opposes abstinence-only education in public schools. Instead, it favors (and offers) comprehensive sex education, which includes discussion of both abstinence and birth control.

Due to their pro-choice stance Planned Parenthood generally supports Democratic Party candidates, though it has invested significantly in political efforts amongst Republicans who uphold a pro-choice stance.

Due to its stands, Planned Parenthood is vehemently opposed by pro-life citizens and organizations, and is often subject to picketing and protests by these groups.

Planned Parenthood and the US Supreme Court


Planned Parenthood regional chapters have been active in the American courts. A number of cases in which Planned Parenthood has been a party have reached the Supreme Court of the United States.

listdev

Upcoming

  • November 2005 http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_calendars/monthlyargumentcaldecember2005.pdf docket link: Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood|Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. This relates to a constitutionality challenge by Planned Parenthood et al. of a Massachusetts parental notification law related to access to abortion. http://www.supremecourtus.gov/qp/04-01144qp.pdf Questions before the Court. http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/04-1161-01A.pdf Opinion of the US First Circuit Court of Appeals leading to the Questions before the Court.


Historical
  • July 1976 (decided): Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth. This was a constitutionality challenge by Planned Parenthood to a Missouri law encompassing parental consent, spousal consent, clinic bookkeeping and allowed abortion methods. Portions of the challenged law were held to be constitutional, others not. http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0428_0052_ZS.html Syllabus, Opinion, one Concurrence, and two Concurrence & Dissent statements

  • 1983: Planned Parenthood Association of Kansas City v. Ashcroft. This was a constitutionality challenge by Planned Parenthood to a Missouri law encompassing parental consent, clinic record keeping, and hospitalization requirements. Most of the challenged law was held to be constitutional. PMID 12041276.

  • June 1992 (decided): Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. This was a constitutionality challenge by Planned Parenthood to a Pennsylvania law encompassing parental consent, spousal consent, clinic bookkeeping, post-consent waiting period, and mandated information dispersal to clinic patients. Most of the challenged law was held to be constitutional. http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0505_0833_ZS.html Syllabus, Opinion, and four Concurrence & Dissent statements

Recent activities


activities within the past 5 years ... see also Supreme Court section of this article
  • Planned Parenthood was one of the co-sponsors of the March for Women's Lives, held April 25, 2004.

  • In August 2005, amidst some controversy, Planned Parenthood Golden Gate (the San Francisco section of the organization) released an animated video depicting violence against those critical of Planned Parenthood, including the drowning of an abstinence proponent in lubricant, blowing up zombie-like demonstrators at their clinic, and decapitating one of them with a giant condom. http://www.ppgg.org/redirect.asp?url=easylink.playstream.com/ctsg/progressive/PPGG/PPGG2.mp4 The link from its main page was quickly removed after some criticism began. http://www.dawneden.com/2005/08/planned-parenthood-fantasizes-about.html

  • has been engaged in large scale tracking of the effectiveness and safety of Mifepristone within its clinicshttp://www.plannedparenthoodrx.com/annualreport/report-04.pdf

See also


  • Abortion

  • Birth control

  • Reproductive rights

Notes and references


# note|alternatenames The formal name for the organization is "Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc." It is also known by the abbreviation "PPFA".
# note|petitionletter This statement appears as the opening statement in a letter signed by Karen Pearl (noted as "Interim President") distributed with a petition sent through the United States mail in 2005.

Category:Birth control
Category:Abortion
Category:Political advocacy groups in the United States

Copyright & Resource Links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Planned Parenthood".


Last Modified:   2005-12-23


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