SpotLight On planned parenthood
History
It all started in 1916 when the first iteration of Planned Parenthood opened in Brownsville, Brooklyn. It began just as a birth control clinic, but it was the first of its kind ever to open in the United States. Planned Parenthood was founded by a nurse named Margaret Sanger. Sanger grew up in a large family, and her mother was very fragile from having so many pregnancies and miscarriages. Her mother's story empowered her to travel around Europe to study birth control methods and educate people about birth control which was illegal in the United States at the time. In October 1916, Sanger, along with her sister Ethel Byrne and activist Fania Mindell, opened the clinic in Brooklyn. On opening day, the line reached around the block and women were ecstatic to finally have a center for birth control information and advice. However, police raided it only about a week later and shut it all down. The three were sentenced to jail and spent 30 days there; however, Sanger seized the opportunity and educated inmates about birth control during her time.
Planned Parenthood has a dark side to its history. After being released from jail, Sanger went on a tour traveling the country to share her dystopian vision. Sanger believed in eugenics, a harmful, racist, and ableist ideology that prevents certain people from having children. It is an ideology that deems people “unfit to procreate” and unfortunately, Margaret Sanger believed in this ideology. She supported the 1927 Buck v. Bell Supreme Court case that ruled states could forcibly sterilize people deemed “unfit to have kids.” Although Margaret Sanger had this ideology, currently, Planned Parenthood believes that ALL people are whole human beings with their own rights to determine their own future. Planned Parenthood has denounced Sanger’s racist and ableist ideology and continues to strive for a better, brighter future for all women and families.
In 1923, Sanger opened the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau in Manhattan to provide birth control to women and collect statistics about the safety of birth control. She also incorporated the American Birth Control League into her research bureau, and together, they merged to become the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Planned Parenthood would go on to fund birth control research like the development of the pill and go on to serve one in five women in the US.
Current work
Currently, Planned Parenthood makes it its mission to ensure that all people “have access to the care and resources they need to make informed decisions about their bodies, their lives, and their futures.” Organizations across the United States provide individuals with healthcare professionals dedicated to providing high-quality, compassionate, and affordable care. Their services include in-clinic abortion procedures or referrals, birth control services, transgender hormone therapy, pregnancy testing and services, STD testing and treatment, vaccinations, and more. Planned Parenthood‘s aim is to make people feel comfortable and educate others about all the possible decisions they have. Their professional staff cares and guides you on your own journey because you have full control over your future. .
Advocacy
Planned Parenthood advocates access to a full range of sexual and reproductive health care and education. Planned Parenthood is not limited to the United States either, as the organization is trying to advance global health as well. Planned Parenthood works with local organizations in less-developed countries to increase access to healthcare and education among its citizens. They foster sustainable health and education programs for any generation to make informed choices for their own bodies.
Sources
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-history
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are
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