by Alissa Lopez
Planned Parenthood's 100th Anniversary was this past Sunday, October 16th and it was a day celebrated by pro-abortionists. As a young Hispanic woman, I will never understand why an institution founded by a racist with an endless list of scandals involving sex trafficking, domestic violence, and the selling of aborted baby parts is praised. Regardless of the fact that I am pro-life, this institution has been corrupt since day one and deserves no respect or admiration from society.
Huffington Post contributor Catherine Pearson was one of the many people who took to the media to express her approval of the establishment of this organization. In her piece entitled, 'On Its 100th Anniversary, A Reminder of Why Planned Parenthood Is So Vital,' she uses five of the most typical and overused arguments to celebrate and applaud PP and the work it has done.
The first reason that Pearson believes Planned Parenthood is so vital to society and has truly become "a cornerstone of the American health care system" is because one in five women have gone to a Planned Parenthood center. Second, because of the amount of tests and treatments it provides for STI's, in addition to the breast exams, pap smears, and birth control. The third reason, "it also provides abortions" but that it only accounts for "3% of the overall services provided by Planned Parenthood." Four, it helps women and men regardless of income. Lastly, because "it respects women's autonomy" and uses it as an opportunity to label Donald Trump as a "misogynist" and attack Governor Mike Pence for his pro-life beliefs.
Planned Parenthood Needs To Stop Sugarcoating the Truth
The part of this that is the most troubling is the coolness in the author's writing when mentioning that PP does offer abortion services. It's listed number three on her flimsy list, and starts with, "Yes, it also provides abortion" (as if we didn't already know that) and goes on to emphasize that the procedure is an "essential part" and that it is "safe and legal." It is only two sentences long, the shortest section in comparison to the other four points. When in reality, it should be the longest part of her article, so I'll fill in the blanks for her.
Continuing to use the phrase "abortion services only account for 3% of all services" is highly misleading to the public, and I'm certain that the liberal media knows this. It makes the actual number of abortions performed seem less severe and disturbing. So I will provide them for you: according to the 2014-15 annual report, PP conducted exactly 323,999 abortions and provided only 2,204 adoption referrals, approximately 300 more than they did the previous year.
As for the abortions conducted 2013-14, the number is 327,653. Between the years of 2010 and 2014, Planned Parenthood performed 1,312,782 abortions. This is not a number that the Huffington Post or MSNBC would dare to share because it truly puts things into perspective.
My intention is not to shame women who have chosen to get abortions. After all, "The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;" (Daniel 9:9). As a Catholic I believe that God will forgive them, especially those who ask for it and those who suffer tremendously both emotionally and mentally after undergoing the procedure. Including who genuinely regret their decision.
Abortion grief is a real thing, not some term coined by the right for the sake of justifying our objections to abortions. Numerous studies involving hundreds of women have concluded that women can be affected in myriad ways from developing post-traumatic stress disorder from undergoing both early and late term abortions and depression. From mood disorders to relationship problems, in addition to "elevated risks for abusing drugs and alcohol," abortion is not something that should be normalized let alone accepted by society because of the harm it can cause.
Abortion may be legal, but realistically can you classify it as 'safe'?
What the Leftist Agenda Doesn't Want You To Know
Planned Parenthood opposes providing medical care to a child that survives an abortion, even though there have been numerous cases of this occurring and babies have been left to die. A majority of states continue to allow for abortion at any point in a woman's pregnancy, which allows for a continuance of late-term and partial birth abortions, even though science has proven that a child in the womb can feel pain after 20 weeks.
A team of researchers at the University of Oxford recently discovered that a child's heartbeat can be heard as early as 16 days after conception. According to Planned Parenthood, 91% of abortions are performed to the first trimester (12 weeks or earlier). But up to the 12 week mark, fingers, toes, hair follicles and eyes are developing. Skin has fully developed and bones begin to replace cartilage. Do these characteristics still not indicate that the baby is a person?
To top it off, the procedures that are used to abort a child are often not known to the public, making it easy to accept. This year, when pro-abortion individuals were stopped on the street and asked to watch a series of viral pro-life videos explaining the diverse abortion procedures used for each individual trimester, they changed their opinions on abortion in a matter of minutes. One girl was asked to describe what she saw in one word, and she responded "inhumane."
The Huffington Post never fails to tell just one side of the story, just as the liberal media in general always fails to provide a full spectrum of information for its viewers. Keep the people ignorant and uninformed is the best strategy for ensuring their loyalty because then the people have no basis for doubt. Share only the comforting and good parts of issues, such as abortion, and people won't see a problem.
Alissa is a CBLPI intern.