(Disclaimer: I'm not trying to make anyone feel guilty, or put out religious propaganda; these are just my opinions and the research I've done to back them.)

I know people say that Planned Parenthood offers a well-rounded, comprehensive, and varied look at the options for an unplanned pregnancy. But what I found on their website was not exactly that. The truth is that they have a very large, intensive, and emphatic section with many pages, explanations, and even a video concerning abortion, and a one-page list of FAQs concerning adoption. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

To the organization's credit, however, Planned Parenthood does offer an extensive list of pages with lots of information on pregnancy and what to do to prepare for a baby. Yet, even this area of the website is peppered with hints and nudges toward abortion (for instance, they have a section where you take a quiz, and if you do not measure up to their standard of being ready, they tell you you should decide not to have your child). And in the section titled "Pregnant, Now What?" which I thought would be filled with helpful tips on prenatal care, nutrition, vitamins, doctor recommendations, etc., actually began with asking these questions: "Is having a baby the best choice for me?" and "Is having an abortion the best choice for me?" It places the emphasis on deciding if you feel like going through a pregnancy rather than placing the emphasis on offering suggestions to help you with it.

There is also a substantial section on the website warning against facilities which offer alternatives to abortion, labeling them all as covert, evangelical institutions that use scare tactics to harm women and make them not have abortions. I realize that there probably are such institutions out there, and that's awful. But there are many legitimate clinics and crisis centers that place emphasis on alternatives to abortion, and I don't think those places deserve to be lumped in with the bad places, or made victims of libel.

Also, I noticed that they never refer to abortion as anything but "ending your pregnancy." They do not inform women what is actually happening. For instance, they use phrases like, "the uterus will contract and empty" rather than "the fetus will leave the uterus" or "the fetus will be killed." I understand not wanting to traumatize people. But I think it is only fair to tell women what is actually happening inside their bodies, that what is being "emptied" is not just blood or something, but a growing human. I think it's a lot more serious than some people realize, and than Planned Parenthood would have us believe.

To anyone reading, I'm not really trying to convince you of anything; these are just my opinions. Honestly, I was just kind of thinking about this subject, and I wondered what everyone thought. Don't take my word for it, go check out the Planned Parenthood website (plannedparenthood.org), and give your opinion. I know it's a tough topic, but don't be afraid to start a discussion. (If I didn't tag you, feel free to reply anyway. I just ran out of tag space.)

So what do you guys think?

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Abortion should be used only if the mother is endangered, or a case of rape.

Other than that, I'm fully against it. Having a baby is a consequence of having sex. If you don't want a baby,  then:  don't have sex, or Wait until you're married or can afford to take care of it. or Put it up for adoption.

Counter Argument 1:

"Well what if it's a 13 year old girl who is pregnant"

So what? Then the problem lies with education, and we should be fixing that system and not turn a blind eye to it. And once the issue of education is fixed, then it's irrelevant what age the pregnant woman is. You decided to have sex, you know a baby is possible then. That was YOUR choice. Don't want it, put it up for adoption.....

Counter Argument 2:

"Foster Care is horrible"

a.) Ok, yes, it can be. But I have quite a few adopted friends. If their moms had an abortion, they obviously wouldn't be here now, and I wouldn't be able to enjoy the friendships I currently have. Not all foster parents are bad, so to say you want to kill a potential baby for this reason, you may be denying it a good life.

b.) Even if it has a bad foster parent, at least it's alive, and able to progress and hopefully better itself as it gets older and thus enjoy a good life

c.) You can now choose what parent you want your adopted baby to go to

d.) Just like the first example, spend time, money, and effort on fixing the system of Foster Care rather than abortions

I'm sorry, again, if you have sex you know the potential outcome. In this world you are responsible for your actions. There are no second chances in life, so why should killing a potential human be one?

If I'm a sane person, but had a bad day one day and snapped and ended up shooting and killing someone, I'm still going to jail, and possibly in jail for life. Thar one moment of madness on my part means I have to live with the consequences. Take responsibility for your actions, no matter how large or small the outcome is.

That said, abortions CAN NOT be made illegal. Cause they will happen anyway (just like underage drinking and such happens). And that would be incredibly dangerous and present many problems.

So while I'm against abortion, I don't think it should be illegal, but rather just simply not done and encouraged to do all the other options outlined above.

As for the Planned Hood semantic, it's horrible propaganda. It's putting spin on a dangerous and uncomfortable procedure, making it seem like it's not a big deal. Almost encouraging it, which is wrong too.

The smart people will be able to see through that type of thing (the flowery language). It's the poorly educated that will be more persuaded. You know the type -- those that believed the movie Fahrenheit 9/11 and all the other propaganda nonsense.

And seeing that it's 3.50am, and I have to wake up for class at 8.30am, I better get to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a loooong day.

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Out of curiosity, have you ever been to a Planned Parenthood Clinic? Have you ever spoken with them about what actually  happens there? Looking at its website is not the best way to learn how things progress there; I highly recommend actually visiting one of these clinics and talking to the people there about what they do and do not promote.

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You know full well that most people here are morons who don't take the time to even bother researching.

PP's actual activities when broken down are largely non-abortion. Much of their activities are actually in prevention, STI treatment and prevention, and planning for the future of one's reproduction. Actual abortions are quite a small percent of their activities.

But people are in fact morons.

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"Well this is new....and scary" - Serena on a Convent Scarab

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Quote: from exceedinglyrare at 9:23 am on Feb. 26, 2008

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Out of curiosity, have you ever been to a Planned Parenthood Clinic? Have you ever spoken with them about what actually  happens there? Looking at its website is not the best way to learn how things progress there; I highly recommend actually visiting one of these clinics and talking to the people there about what they do and do not promote.

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You know full well that most people here are morons who don't take the time to even bother researching.  

PP's actual activities when broken down are largely non-abortion. Much of their activities are actually in prevention, STI treatment and prevention, and planning for the future of one's reproduction. Actual abortions are quite a small percent of their activities.

But people are in fact morons.

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I have been to Planned Parenthood.  I had my first positive pregnancy test there when I pregnant with my daughter.  Their first response was NOT "Congratulations".  In fact, it was, "Are you planning on abortion, adoption or keeping the child?"  In that order.  They said "abortion" first.  Assuming that, since I looked young, that I was going to be an inept mother, when in reality, I was just there for a pregnancy test because they could get me in sooner than my regular OB.  

Although their percentages of abortions are a lot lower than a regular clinic, the point of the matter is, they do not adequately educate young women (and older women) enough on other options.  Most people look at websites waaaay before they'd call, mostly for the reason that they are embarressed or don't exactly know what to say.  

However, the person in need of a pregnancy could always go somewhere like Rachel's Place.  A completely pro-life clinic where they ONLY educate the women on adoption and how to raise a baby in a healthy environment.  If you even bring up the option of abortion they'll literally tell you it's wrong and the reasons for it (in their opinion, obviously, not on behalf of all clinics).

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Find a new God.
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Consider this: if you're interested in reading up on adoption, are you going to go to Planned Parenthood's website? No. You are going to probably Google adoption services and go to those websites. On the other hand, if you're interested in reading up on abortion, Planned Parenthood provides excellent resources in that arena. They're a family planning clinic, not an adoption agency. It's not their job to give you every fact in the world on putting your child up for adoption.

Interestingly, you should know that if you'd chosen to have an abortion at Planned Parenthood, they require that you go through counselling before the fact, and (I'm not sure if you noticed) the waiting room is absolutely littered with pamphlets talking about adoption. Their job is not to promote any one choice over the other. Their job is to provide healthcare for women, whether it's hormonal birth control, pregnancy tests, pap smears or abortions. If a person is more interested in researching adoption, they probably aren't going to be bumming around Planned Parenthood anyway.

Really...you're making a mountain out of a molehill and being more than a little silly.

Also, I'd really appreciate if you'd provide links to the supposed "substantial section on the website warning against facilities which offer alternatives to abortion, labeling them all as covert, evangelical institutions that use scare tactics to harm women and make them not have abortions." This isn't something I've seen on the website; from what I've seen, http://www.plannedparenthood.org actually provides pretty honest and unbiased opinions on all a woman's options. The only reason I can think of that anyone would consider it biased is if they were twisting things around to suit their own purposes.

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SO WHAT that they said abortion first? That doesn't mean that's their primary objective, just that it's what most people in your circumstance would've chosen to do, based on what they know of that situation.

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That's the thing.  They knew nothing of my situation.  As a matter of fact, they knew when I walked in that I was engaged!!  They told me I had a pretty ring.  They knew my age after I filled out the form, and I really don't know too many 18 year old girls who are engaged getting abortions.  But I'm sure that's one of the lower percentiles of girls having the procedure done.  So I don't know.  As I said, I am prochoice.  I just believe the way the educate women on everything is wrong, in my opinion.  I'm sorry if that clashes with yours.  But it's understandable.  This is an extremely touchy subject.

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Find a new God.
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And, again, I would really like it if you could link me to the area of their website where you found, "a substantial section on the website warning against facilities which offer alternatives to abortion, labeling them all as covert, evangelical institutions that use scare tactics to harm women and make them not have abortions."

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Let yourself be enchanted,
You just might break through
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(just one of the many articles from this site: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/issues-action/abortion/feature-articles-6556.htm)
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/issues-action/abortion/clinic-escort-11854.htm

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01.02.04  |  Nine Reasons Why Abortions Are Legal
01.02.04 | Five Ways to Prevent Abortion

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Their reasons for having an abortion (or why they're legal, which is in a way saying why it's okay, which I have no problem with) are almost twice as much as ways to prevent.

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When God gives you lemons...
Find a new God.
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That being said, I do not believe that the government has the right to completely cut off women from having this option. Anyway, there are many people who would continue to get illegal abortions most likely if the practice was banned.

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"If you can dream it, you can do it"- Walt Disney

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I don't get the issue with the nine to five ratio. Are there more than five ways to prevent an abortion? Who knows? At least they listed ways to prevent it.

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That's my question, too. I don't know that there are more than five ways to prevent pregnancy, so I don't see why it's a problem that only five were listed.

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Let yourself be enchanted,
You just might break through
To ever ever after

I'm just saying...

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