2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Planned Parenthood’s Facebook page filling with outraged supporters [View all]Hekate
(90,681 posts)...services in the form of physical examinations, sex education, and dispensing of contraceptive devices and medications. They have always had nurses and doctors on-site. They never provided abortion services until that became legal, after Roe vs Wade.
From the beginning, a century ago, their founder Margaret Sanger, a Registered Nurse, was harassed, sued, dragged into court and jailed for having the courage to educate and treat women who had no other recourse for their reproductive needs. Rich women had society doctors -- all others were pretty much doomed to have a baby a year until they either kicked their husbands out of bed or their health broke completely down.
To this very day, clinic workers, volunteers, doctors and nurses are subject to harassment, stalking, and murder by homegrown terrorists trying to "save the babies." The entirely legal abortion services provided by PP amount to a whopping 3% of services provided. Pap smears, breast cancer screenings, screening and treatment for STDs, prenatal care -- often this is the only care these patients can get.
For poor women, for teenagers, for all those in need of reproductive health services and education, PP stands alone. Wishing for single payer health care will not make the need for PP go away, because state by state anti-choice sexist and mysogynist legislators have been doing their utmost to deny poor women and girls access to the health care they so desperately need, and those assholes will never give up.
I stand with Planned Parenthood. Always have. Always will.