Planned Parenthood (PP) is, at this moment, leading teens in the Memphis area in talks about sex education. PP Greater Memphis Region is hosting a Teen Clinic today in honor of National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, describing it as a “special day of activities, learning opportunities and Q&A for teenagers.” The children, ages 13-18, will be told about puberty, pregnancy, contraception, and STD prevention. What they aren’t talking about is depression prevention, divorce prevention, and delinquency prevention – all results of early sexual activity. And their parents may not even know they are at PP.
No Parents Required
While teens are invited to bring their parents to the Teen Clinic, parents are not required, and neither is their permission. PP thinks that misled parents should feel reassured by their claim that PP educators advise children to “involve their parents in decisions about sexual behavior.” How noble of them to hand condoms to 13-year-olds and tell them that they maybe might want to inform their parents of their decision to have sex, but they certainly don’t have to because it is their decision, after all. PP is completely ignoring the numerous studies that have made it common knowledge that teenage brains are not developed enough to allow them to seriously consider the potential consequences of their actions. As a result, teens are more likely to act on impulse; misread social cues; and engage in risky, inappropriate behaviors. PP just gives kids the thumbs-up; hands them some free, not 100% effective birth control; and sends them on their way, without many parents ever knowing any of what took place.
Using Teens to Make Cash
The people at PP of Memphis say that their trusty educators who, believe “that all teens need accurate, non-judgmental information in order to understand their own bodies and make responsible decisions[,]” will be on hand to help teens make the right decisions about sex. But how can a stranger help a 13-year-old girl make a serious decision about her life when that stranger knows nothing about the girl and her life? The educators don’t know if any of the children who walk in the door are being abused by an adult, are being pressured by their boyfriend or girlfriend, or are being pimped out in a sex ring. But even if they did know, they wouldn’t care. The main objective of PP is to get teens to have sex because teens who have sex will turn to PP for everything from birth control to STD testing to abortion. And that is money in PP’s pocket.
Inaccurate Information
While PP workers pat themselves on the back for using a Teen Clinic to lure in new clients under the premise of teaching children about puberty, pregnancy, contraception, and STD prevention, they are missing a few important details. They aren’t telling these kids about the ineffectiveness of birth control and condoms. And they aren’t telling kids that the earlier they have sex, the more likely they are to become depressed, get divorced, commit crimes, and have an abortion. Actually, PP doesn’t seem to be mentioning the A-word at their Teen Clinic at all (unless it is being lumped in with the contraception talk). After all, the mention of abortion might scare some of their would-be customers away.
To sum it up, at a PP in Memphis, children are currently being tricked into trusting PP, are being told that they’re parents’ opinions don’t matter, are being handed free birth control, and are being misinformed about the negative effects of having sex at an early age. And we’re paying them to do it.
