.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (May 10, 2010 / 21:12 CST)

I’d like to mention a few important facts that the author of this article seems to have forgotten.

1. Planned Parenthood is a nonprofit organization, which means that their primary goal is never to make money, it’s to make sexual, reproductive and family healthcare available to people who don’t have it or can’t afford it on their own.

2. And just in case you want to be sure they’re not hiding anything, Planned Parenthood makes their latest income tax returns report available online at http://www.plannedparenthood.org choose “annual report” under the “about us” tab.

3. According to the planned parenthood website, only 3% of all healthcare services performed at Planned Parenthood are abortion services. They also provide nearly one million pap tests and more than 850,000 breast exams every year. This means that a vast majority of the services provided by Planned Parenthood are not abortion related. 97 percent!

I recognize that Planned Parenthood seems the natural target for those who choose not to believe in or support a woman’s right to reproductive choice. However, abortions are only a tiny majority of the services provided by Planned Parenthood and it is really important to make sure not to cherry pick facts when writing an article like this. It only ends up sounding ignorant to those who know better and giving false impressions to those who don’t.

Rebecca (Jan 26, 2009 / 20:17 CST)

I think that it is important also to understand that some forms of birth control, including intra-uterine contraceptives, aren’t well understood. I have done some research on this form of birth control and have found so many different “reasons” why it works (from it being effectively a barrier method to it being actively abortive) that I find my head spinning. We also need to be careful to instruct young women (and their husbands) in the risks of the various hormone therapies available (the pill, the patch, Nuvo-ring, etc). Many of these can lead to heart and nerve disorders because our bodies aren’t meant to take in the amount of hormone necessary in order to achieve the desired result. Plus, as one article on this site stated, the use of birth control and abortion can reduce fertility later on.

I think that we need to be careful to express that this isn’t judgment on the part of Christians and other pro-life and right to life individuals. I am becoming sickened by the number of churches in my area that refuse to take a stand against abortion for fear of “hurting somebody.” My opinion is that you can’t open your doors for healing unless you first condemn the act itself.

I am glad that there are more and more organizations and websites available to help educate young people about their options. But where are all the women?