i lost my virginity late. and by late i mean middle of college, totally in a relationship, finally ready, and surprisingly not drunk. but as different from most girl's first time stories as mine was, i still was not on birth control and we didn't use a condom.
luckily, i did not get pregnant from that particular careless moment.
three months later i was sitting in my all women's liberal college's tiny clinic getting me some free birth control.
"you're lucky you're at this private school. we think the nearest planned parenthood will be shut down eventually."
"so when i graduate, i can still get free birth control?"
"yep." she gave me the planned parenthood brochure which listed all their "women's services." my lunch that day had been the same chinese food i had been rationing for 3 days and my bank account had been at a steady $5.61 for a week now. so this brochure was amazing.
this was 8 years ago and in liberal massachusetts where people BLEED blue for the most part. but the stigma was there. planned parenthood was called "an abortion factory" among other things. but there still wasn't a real threat yet about them disappearing.
a few years later in boston i stood in line between my law school classes at the local planned parenthood to pick up more free birth control pills after i was careless again. i was kicking myself--if i had just taken advantage of this place, i wouldn't have the turmoil, trauma, and sleepless nights after he refused to use a condom. on the way in a women threw a bible at me (no lie) but a security guard quickly shooed her away. despite the one lonely (probably sad) woman throwing bibles, there was a line to get in and long wait to see the amazingly upbeat staff. located near the boston university campus, the waiting room was packed and all i heard around me were girls, younger than me mostly, talking about their weekend plans, papers, and the new guy they're seeing. i'm sure there were girls there for abortions--but even standing there, it was obvious that a great majority of them were just like me--getting their annual pap smear, pills, or making sure they were STD-free. there were even a few guys there getting tested for whatever.
last week when jon kyl, a republican senator from AZ declared quite boldly on the senate floor that 90% of people who go to planned parenthood go for abortions, i laughed even before jezebel.com refuted him in the article with the actual facts.
90%? ha.
the actual number is THREE PERCENT, by the way. three. percent.
senator kyl later said his statement was not meant to factual to which the great Stephen Colbert responded with a Twitter war.
that 90% myth however is what most americans, republicans or democrats, probably believe.
case and point: around the time i was graduating law school, an acquaintance, a hippie-ish, obama-loving, liberal guy i'd had a few classes with, pointed at a billboard in the boston subway for planned parenthood where the large head of a smiling girl was watching us wait for our train. my peer laughed and exclaimed,"why does she look so happy? cause she won't have to raise a kid now thanks to the free abortions there?"
"one," i looked at him. "they are not free and two, that's not all they do. she's happy because she got free birth control there so she won't be put in a position where she would have to consider having a baby."
"whoa." he didn't talk to me much after that.
the stigma that stains planned parenthood is what might have lead to a government shut down. this, to me, is ridiculous. it's ridiculous to anyone who has not only benefited from PP's services but have just looked at the numbers, the brochures, or stood in the waiting room at one of their facilities--especially one next to a college campus.
staying away from the obvious moral debate about whether abortion is okay or not, it has been angering me that as educated men and women, the people running our government can't do the same and ignore their own feelings about THREE PERCENT of planned parenthood's services and just move on to things that need their attention.
but that's how it goes, doesn't it? when your "morals" and "emotions" come into play, the stats are suddenly distorted to serve your agenda, your purpose. in the times of slavery, black people were "scientifically proven" to not be as smart as white people, recently homosexuals make bad parents and will ruin the institution of marriage, and giving women (and men) a place to get much needed services means supporting a baby-killing factory.
it's saddens me that so much is being put on an institution which has helped so many people out over the years. take that 3% stat out and you still remain with waiting rooms filled with people taking the right steps to take care of themselves. sure, you can go to a real private doctor--and when i finally get insurance, i will gladly go--but that's not always possible. a visit to my doctor for a cold just cost me a good $150 and even on my post-grad school salary, that physically hurt me when it came out of my bank account.
so go on debating, senators and reps. go on calling planned parenthood the "lenscrafters" of abortions (thanks, ms. bachmann). but you won't be doing much good for the country by taking these buildings away.
