Planned Parenthood - Claims v Reality

This post is going to look at a few of the claims Planned Parenthood has been making recently to justify their continuing to get government largesse on our dime.

Planned Parenthood makes the following claim on their website on their Who We Are page:

Providing Trusted Community Health Care

One in five American women has chosen Planned Parenthood for health care at least once in her life.

The heart of Planned Parenthood is in the local community. Our 84 unique, locally governed affiliates nationwide operate more than 800 health centers, which reflect the diverse needs of their communities.

These health centers provide a wide range of safe, reliable health care — and more than 90 percent is preventive, primary care, which helps prevent unintended pregnancies through contraception, reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections through testing and treatment, and screen for cervical and other cancers.

Did you get that, they claim that 90% of what they do is primary care. However the truth is completely different:

Planned Parenthood is not a significant primary care provider for women

In recent reports, Planned Parenthood acknowledges that it provided primary care only to about 19,700 of its 3 million unduplicated clients. These services have been trending downward for years, from 21,247 in 2007 to 20,235 in 2008, to today’s 19,796. (Source: Does Planned Parenthood Need or Deserve Federal Funds? An Analysis of Planned Parenthood’s Revenue and Services A Report from the Chiaroscuro Foundation - Note: This study takes these numbers directly from Planned Parenthood's own reports)

Less than 20,000 out of 3 million comes to 0.659% of the people they see. So how can they claim that 90% of what they do is primary care? Simple, by adding the word "preventative" on their website that they conveniently omit elsewhere. That allows them to add their preventing unwanted pregnancies, hiding the fact that a huge part of that prevention is done via abortions.

But even if you assume that the 90% is only those couple things they claim, the statistics show that what they are doing is an abysmal failure.

From the same Chiaroscuro Foundation report: C. Planned Parenthood touts its "preventive services" but they all seem to have failed to prevent the problems they claim to solve. Rates of non-marital births and sexually transmitted diseases are increasing, and rates of abortion remain very high or are increasing.

For its 3 million unduplicated clients in 2008, Planned Parenthood supplied 3.8 million contraception services.

For its 3 million unduplicated clients in 2008, Planned Parenthood supplied more than 3.7 million "testing and treatment" services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This figure has been increasing over the past few years, from 1,255,036 in 2002 to 3,018,077 in 2006.

So if they are working to reduce the spread of STIs why are the numbers going up? & if the are trying to prevent unwanted pregnancies why is the number of abortions they are doing going up? & why are they pushing their various affiliates to do more of them?

When you compare Planned Parenthood's claims to the real numbers, the only undeniable truth is that Planned Parenthood is NOT telling the truth. They are manipulating the numbers through false labeling & downright lying to make it sound like they are not the abortion giant they are.

& then there is this claim by 1 of Planned Parenthood's "patients", Carolyn Smithers (Washington, DC April 7 12:35pm ): "I have been battling Stage 3 breast cancer.

People talk about the importance of frequent checkups and early detection. I know for a fact that the checkup that I received at Planned Parenthood when I was 19 years old saved my life."

So, what did they diagnose when she was 19 given that she admits to having an 18 yr old daughter? Was it the breast cancer? & if so how given that they don't do mammograms now & it was less likely they did them over 20 years ago? There is just enough given by her to make it sound like Planned Parenthood actually did help her. Yet not enough to pin down what they may have done. Just enough to make it sound like she has had breast cancer for over 18 years & is still battling it. & while I am not an expert on breast cancer, what I do know doesn't jive with her claims.

I honestly hope & pray that she does beat the breast cancer. But they facts are that if it is Stage 3A she has a 51-56% chance of survival. & if it is stage 3B or 3C, they odds are less than 50% going down to 35% for 3C. So even if the initial diagnosis was the result of them showing her how to do a breast exam, which is the most likely scenario, Planned Parenthood's "checkup" at best extended, not saved her life. & IMHO even that is stretching things without actually knowing what Planned Parenthood really did. I say that because I suspect that all they did was have a pamphlet there that she saw. & that is assuming the person is real in the 1st place.

I know some people will say I am being cynical. But given the track record of Planned Parenthood & their supporters for twisting the truth at best, I feel my skepticism is very much justified. At best, she is letting herself be used, at worst, she was just made up by the person who put up the post.

1 other thing I noticed is that the PHOTOS FROM DC of the rally on Thursday are all tight shots & none show the whole crowd. I also noticed the same people in several of the photos. Maybe the reason for the angles & repeats are because they didn't want to show how few people actually did show up. I suspect that the number of the people there was at best 1% of those that showed up in January for the March for Life. & given how most of the people were in pink t-shirts, it couldn't have been the weather. & to be fair, th reason I say 1% is based on the fact that about 400,000 people were at the March for Life. & according to an article on answer.com the largest estimate was from Planned Parenthood who said 4000 people were there. & that was the largest. The article said other estimates ranged from hundreds to 2000.

& this is only a couple of things about that rally that I could look at.

So, if Planned Parenthood is truly providing the services they claim & they have the huge support they claim, where were all their supporters?

Thomas at Blog For Choice: wrote "If anyone had any doubt that America's pro-choice majority is fired up and ready to STOP the War on Women, then they should have seen what I just saw on the National Mall." I don't know what you saw but "Thousands of citizen activists in purple and pink t-shirts gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol" on a beautiful April day compared to 400,000 Pro-lifers on a cold January day sounds more like the majority is Pro-life & that the few you have that are fired up is anything but a majority.

Once again we see how Planned Parenthood's claims fail to hold up. We also see the extent to which they will lie or stretch the truth.

i end with my familiar refrain, we must keep praying. At this point we also must let Congress & Obama know that ending support for Planned Parenthood as well as putting an end to abortion was a main issue in the outcome of last year's election. & that it is time for them to act or face being kicked out next year if they don't.