Deseret News | Reader comments: Planned Parenthood aims to keep Utahns safe, healthy

Reader comments
My view: Planned Parenthood aims to keep Utahns safe, healthy

Clark Larsen | 12:40 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008

I very much appreciate the fact that Mellisa Bird's letter was not written in a way which she talked down to Deseret News readers. She presented her talking points, supporting Planned Parenthood, in a positive, constructive way. We need more of that kind of commentary.

For some it might be a surprise to hear that Planned Parenthood, as well as most LDS, Catholic, Baptist, and Jewish families do indeed want the same thing. Which is, much lower rates of pregnancy, STDs and abortions among teens and young adults. The question then becomes, what are the best ways to achieve these goals? Is sex education a one size fits all proposition? Should the sex ed taught in a Bronx, New York high school be the same sex ed taught in a Provo, Utah high school?

I would like to ask Planned Parenthood, do you really feel it's bad for parents and clergy to talk about self-control and respect for the body? Is waiting until marriage to have sex as evil as some people assume you think it is?

Finally, do you really protect adult men from law enforcement, who sleep with young girls? I've heard many people make this claim.

Both had similar goals | 5:23 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008

Planned Parenthood aims to keep Utah safe and healthy?

Hitler's aim was to keep the Arian Germans safe and healthy too.

abort or not? | 7:03 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008

So, if a woman's body spontaneously aborts within a month or two of conception, it was "cleaning up." If the woman makes the choice, she's a murderer. What gives a clump of cells value as a life rather than being even perhaps a tumor?

People have got to get consistent in their definitions. It's ridiculous.

Comments continue below

Cats | 8:03 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008

Planned Parenthood has destroyed a lot of lives--both women and children.

Mike RIchards | 8:20 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008

What gives any organization the "right" to tell our children that it is permissible to engage in sexual relations outside of marriage?

What gives any organization the "right" to give birth-control to our children without a parent's explicit permission?

What gives any organization the "right" to tell our children that killing an unborn child is an 'option'?

Who gave any organization the stewardship of those children? What court order removed the parental responsibility of the mother and father and gave it to the planned parenthood organization?

Paul Mero | 8:51 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008

PP's cause (and effect) is to prevent life...and that is not a far leap from being on the team that ends lives needlessly. The cause of PP is despicable...unless, of course, for you, the business of preventing life is a noble goal.

to Both had similar goals | 9:11 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008

I'm just supposing here, but you likely want to keep your family fed and sheltered.

Do we paint you with the same brush as Kevin Mitnick, Irma Grese, Morton Sobell, Anjette Lyles, Orenthal Simpson, or Slobodan Milosevic?

evensteven | 9:46 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008

It would be easier to give Ms. Bird's comments credence if PP were not involved in such a massive conflict of interest. They get a significant portion of their revenue from providing abortions. Believing that they would seriously champion any program that would reduce their income and relevance in the discussion is, well, naive. PP tries to repackage itself in the hope that people won't notice they are the largest provider of abortions in the country. Advocating abstinence and fidelity would bankrupt them.

Safety and health are important. But let's be candid, PP is ultimately about promoting abortion on demand and a culture that makes those abortions 'necessary' - sexual and reproductive freedom. They just want to make sure no one catches anything while fooling around, and if they get pregnant, that the abortion procedure will be safe.

Ms. Bird tries to put a warm, friendly face on her organization. Any objective observer of their lobbying and social advocacy will see just how deceptive that is. From anti-abstinence programs, to opposing parental notification, to failure to report statutory rape, PP works to keep the clients coming.

Darin | 10:00 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008

Clark Larsen,

Why on earth do you think Planned Parenthood has any objection to parents who advise their kids to abstain from sex? Abstinence is the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancy and everybody knows it. The issue is that it is simply irresponsible for us as a community to assume that the abstinence message alone will work as community birth control - it clearly doesn't. Thank goodness for the folks at Planned Parenthood who are willing to deal with some unpleasant facts of life, facts that plenty of us prefer to ignore. Furthermore, sex education does NOT equal promoting promiscuity. Responsible sex education always includes the promotion of abstinence as the best way to prevent pregnancy.

Finally, why you think Planned Parenthood would harbor criminals (adult men who have sex with underage girls) is beyond comprehension. This sounds like an absurd assault on an organization that some people simply can't understand because they want to believe the abstinence message is a miracle cure-all.

Mike Richards | 10:05 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008

If the question were about athletes instead of sex, the public would be outraged. If any organization whispered in the ear of an athlete that he/she could use this performance enhancing drug or that performance enhancing drug so that he/she could get the best performance and the best satisfaction from "competing", we would demand that that organization be disbanded and the people who promoted "cheating" arrested.

But, in matters of life and death, instead of sports, we close our eyes and close our ears. We let planned parenthood tell our children, "We know that you're going to 'cheat', so here's how to 'cheat' without getting caught (pregnant)". Then we let them help our children 'cheat'. When those children get caught, we let that organization interfere with the system and 'fix' the problem before anyone notices that 'cheating' took place.

What a message. What an organization. What a mess society has allowed.

When society treats its children like animals and expects its children to act like animals, those children will act like sexually active animals.

It is all a lie! | 11:50 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008

I've watched a video about the so called good intentions of PP and the so called clump of cells referred to in the earlier post. This video shows the reality of actual abortions in horrific detail. To call it any other thing than what it is, is the darkest of lies.

Be not deceived. Those who believe the propaganda of this organization should listen to the testimony of former high ranking PP doctors who have by their own admission performed tens of thousands of abortions. They and the girls roped into believing that this is a simple medical procedure that will fix a simple oversight will attest to extreme phycological trauma long after the procedure.

Make no mistake about it. PP is about abortion. Abortion is about money! It is big business as the aforementioned former PP doctors will attest to. The author cunningly mentions the poor girls they help (think uninformed) who cannot pay. This conveniently allows them to plunder the taxpayers to accomplish their dastardly deeds.

"Wo unto those who call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" ISAIAH 5; 20.

Jeffrey | 2:50 p.m. Aug. 3, 2008

Thank you to all the religious fanatics who come on here to comment on letters such as these. You really bring much needed laughter to my day.

On a more serious note, though, it is truly sad how many of you want to control women and their bodies as much as you can. Not only do you not support a woman's right to her body, but you also want to restrict much needed medical advice and birth control that will make them healthier.

And yet you all wonder why more and more people in this country are growing tired of religious nutballs.

Hmmm...

JenM | 3:17 p.m. Aug. 3, 2008

Mr. Mero,
What type of world do you wish to live in--one that is overrun with humans? I fail to see the big problem in preventing pregnancies. Why on earth should people that shouldn't and don't want to have children (or more children)keep having babies? Can you imagine how much more pain and suffering would be in the world? I think that the facet we allow abortions is a show of our failure as a society to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place. If we followed that rational that preventing pregnancy is wrong, you are going to end up with many more abortions I'm afraid.

RE: JenM | 4:52 p.m. Aug. 3, 2008

Jen: Cite some evidence that the world, as a whole, is being "overpopulated". Much of Europe and industrialized areas are declining in population. Their social systems are facing a crisis in that new workers/taxpayers aren't coming in to replace the old ones.

if you're going to make this claim, back it up....

Safe and Healthy? | 5:13 p.m. Aug. 3, 2008

An aborted child is "safe and healthy?"

Bob | 5:21 p.m. Aug. 3, 2008

If abstinence only programs are failing as you state, it is because of the underlying causes...poor parenting and lack of morals, discipline and judgement...on the part of both young men and women. Facilitating/enabling improper behavior is not a responsible solution. And please spare me the "in a perfect world" argument!

JenM | 6:00 p.m. Aug. 3, 2008

To RE:JenM
I didn't say that the earth IS overpopulated. I said that if people didn't use birth control, which is the implied hope and vision of Mr. Mero, then the earth would indeed be overpopulated. You misunderstood my comments.

RE: Jeffrey | 6:00 p.m. Aug. 3, 2008

You don't have to be religious to believe in doing all we can to prevent from murdering the unborn in their mother's wombs.

Laws rightfully prevent what we can legally do with our bodies, and those rights often end where another person's life or rights begin. Do what you want with your body, except: take illegal drugs, drink and drive, hit or hurt another person, steal from another person, etc.

Killing the unborn is absolutely trampling on the rights of the unborn, and has nothing to do with the rights of the mother unless her health is at stake. As with other laws, a mother's rights end where her unborn child's rights begin.

Planned Parenthood is a disgrace to society, and ends up helping to achieve the exact opposite of what their stated goals are, and to a startling degree.

All public funding--sadly, hundreds of millions of our dollars annually--of this destructive organization should be pulled immediately.

Fitting | 7:29 p.m. Aug. 3, 2008

Essentially, conservatives care about a person prior to birth, but cease to after? Sounds about right...

Longtimereader | 7:59 p.m. Aug. 3, 2008

Just how is factual health information given to women and men harmful? Seems to me that if you don't have insurance, (married couples too) PP might be able to provide low cost exams and access to birth control methods. Seems like a better option than bearing child after child on medicaid's dime.

Bob | 8:20 p.m. Aug. 3, 2008

To Fitting...Wow! I would be interested in seeing you try to document your mile-wide generalization about conservatives re: "post-born" people.

evensteven | 9:12 p.m. Aug. 3, 2008

Jeffrey, just how far would you take that "woman's right to control her own body" argument? Is cutting acceptable? What about eating 'disorders'? Is substance 'abuse' ok? How do you feel about suicide? If the baseline argument is about who controls her body, who are you or I to impose our views about the appropriateness of any of the above? By your logic, we should be equally accepting of all of them and actually provide a 'safe and healthy' environment for her. If you believe these behaviors are inappropriate, please state why and rebut the assertion that a woman has an inherent right to engage in that behavior without religious, psycological or parental interference.

Mom in Utah | 8:26 a.m. Aug. 4, 2008

Just as a matter of clarification, Planned Parenthood of Utah does not provide abortions to anyone.

Free Agent | 10:16 a.m. Aug. 4, 2008

Abstinence is the best option for preventing pregnancy and STDs. However, some people on this forum believe they can control the behavior of teens and others if abstinence is the only option taught. This fear-based approach--which disallows "free agencey"--breeds shame & secrecy and can be very destructive for those who become sexually active before marriage...whether it be a high school junior or a BYU senior. Come on people, provide accurate information, model open communication and trust your youth...they are not mindless creatures.

evensteven | 12:06 a.m. Aug. 5, 2008

Mom in Utah, given that PPFA is the largest abortion provider in the country and PPUA was recently recertified by them as an affiliate, it would indeed be surprising if PPUA did not provide abortions. I notice from their annual report that PPAU provided emergency contraception services to over 10,000 patients last year. Isn't that the Plan B, morning-after abortion pill? They may not use scissors and a vacuum, but PPAU still provides pregnancy termination services - abortions. IMHO, PPAU's affiliation with PPFA and their abortion on demand business model taints everything else they do.

Cynthia | 5:26 a.m. Sept. 25, 2008

Regardless of your personal feelings about sex education, abortion, or birth control, Planned Parenthood provides services to women who have no where else to go. In this country where politicians promise that everyone should have health care, no has a plan that we can put into action. For women who don't have health care Planned Parenthood is a blessing.

Add your comment

Comments are monitored. Any comments found to be abusive, offensive, off-topic, misrepresentative, more than 200 words or containing URLs will not be posted.

Words Remaining

E-mail address: For internal use only. We may want to contact you to publish your comment (not your e-mail address) in the newspaper or for a separate story idea.