Planned Parenthood claims birth control is the silver bullet.  Just allow them to provide "comprehensive sex education" to every child and offer these same children easy access to birth control, especially condoms and the morning-after pill, and the world will be a much better place.  Why, you ask?  Well, Planned Parenthood claims "Unwanted pregnancies and abortions will be reduced by 50%."

Now let's leave the fantasy world of Planned Parenthood and return to the real world.

In 2006, the Guttmacher Institute (research arm of Planned Parenthood) rated the states on the effectiveness of their state-funded birth control distribution programs.  States such as New York and California were rated excellent while Nebraska was rated poor.  Which of these states do you think have high abortion rates?  Remember, Planned Parenthood claims that better access to birth control will reduce abortions.  Well, New York and California are among the states with the highest abortion rates while Nebraska has low abortion rates.  Thus, Planned Parenthood's own statistics demonstrate the failure to achieve their claimed results.

In 2005, the Guttmacher Institute, in a study on unplanned pregnancies, noted that 53 percent of women who have unintended pregnancies used a contraceptive method during the month they got pregnant.  Of those unplanned pregnancies, 47 percent end in abortion, 40 percent are carried to full term, and 13 percent end in miscarriage.   Whether this is due to usage failure or method failure, it shows that artificial contraception is largely ineffective in preventing unplanned pregnancy and abortion.

Planned Parenthood insists that allowing morning-after pill sales over-the-counter will reduce unwanted pregnancies and abortions by 50%.  In Sweden, over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill were legalized in 1998.  Between 1998 and 2003, the teen abortion rate went up by 31%.  Studies, including one by a Planned Parenthood medical director in San Francisco, find the morning after pill does not reduce abortion and pregnancy rates.¹   On December 6, 2005 Kirsten Moore, president and CEO of Reproductive Health Technologies Project, admitted at a National Press Club forum that "real world" experience of easy access to the morning-after pill has not reduced the numbers of pregnancies or abortions.  Where is the evidence to support Planned Parenthood's claim that morning-after pill sales over-the-counter will reduce unwanted pregnancies and abortions by 50%?

Let's take a "comprehensive sex education" example from Europe where Planned Parenthood has significant influence.  Teen pregnancies in the United Kingdom (UK) continue to skyrocket, despite a £40million government drive to educate kids in sex-ed.  The incidence of sexually transmitted disease has risen so dramatically that everyone is now referring to the issue as an epidemic.  Isn’t that experience the laboratory evidence that proves this approach of pushing casual sex and contraceptives is a total failure?   Unfortunately, the victims are not laboratory animals, but UK children whose lives are being destroyed by this irresponsible policy.  Even more unfortunate is the proposed solution:  make birth control even easier to obtain by requiring nurses to dispense it without parents' knowledge in every UK grade and high school.  This policy will only make the situation even worse.

Eric Scheidler presented a detailed analysis on why easier access to birth control is not effective in reducing unwanted pregnancies and abortions during his presentation at Speak Out Illinois.  In short, because the availability of contraceptives, emergency or otherwise, leads to a change in behavior toward more risky and casual sex with greater frequency, unwanted pregnancies actually rise and lead to more abortions because just the action of using birth control already establishes a baby as the enemy.  In fact, studies have confirmed that greater availability of contraceptives leads to more unwanted pregnancies and abortions.  At least one of these studies was even done by the Guttmacher Institute.  Thus, Planned Parenthood should already know that "better access to contraceptives" and "comprehensive sex education" will not reduce abortions.

We can only conclude that Planned Parenthood knows very well and actually intends for "comprehensive sex education" and easier access to contraceptives to increase unplanned pregnancies and abortions.  Planned Parenthood has at least a 20 year track record to prove that is exactly what happens. 

Planned Parenthood is the nation's largest abortion provider.  Their last annual report indicates Planned Parenthood performed 289,650 abortions in 2006.  They are now responsible for nearly 24% of the abortions committed annually in our nation.   Each year the number of abortions committed by Planned Parenthood increases at rates of 4-10% over the previous year.  In the last 22 years their abortion business has grown from 5% of the nation's total abortions to nearly 24%.  If more sex education and easier access to contraceptives did what they claimed, why would demand for Planned Parenthood abortion services continue to rise rapidly year after year while abortions nationwide have been declining?

Planned Parenthood is promoting one thing to the public (reducing unwanted pregnancies and abortions) while selling the very thing they claim their "family planning" will reduce.  Would any business that has increased market share from 5% to 24% over the last 22 years actually seriously intend to reduce the need for that very product?   Such a move would be financial suicide!  Apparently, Planned Parenthood is actually successful, because they have certainly found a sure way to generate more business, but this success is totally contrary to their claims about reducing unwanted pregnancies and abortions by 50%.

Planned Parenthood also fails in protecting women's health and personal freedom.  Planned Parenthood’s “comprehensive health care” is not nearly comprehensive enough to address the negative health consequences of contraception such as high blood pressure, blood clots, heart attacks, migraine headaches, and infertility.  And they are certainly not able to provide health care to deal with the consequences of abortion that may include: a perforated uterus, complications in future pregnancies, infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease, and even death.  Their pushing of condoms has not been effective for preventing sexually transmitted diseases.  Planned Parenthood's approach fails to protect women's health.

Planned Parenthood considers the world overpopulated already so having babies is irresponsible.  The purpose behind Planned Parenthood’s “planning” is actually population control.  Ask the women in China if access to contraception and abortion “kept government out of their bedrooms.”  No, it brought Chinese women forced IUDs and forced abortions provided by their government.  Planned Parenthood's approach fails to protect personal freedoms.

Planned Parenthood's approach for "family planning" fails consistently and only leads to pain and suffering for both individuals and our society.

For more details on many of the above examples showing the failures of Planned Parenthood's approach, check the following articles:

Planned Parenthood's solution amounts to false advertising

Pro-Abortion Report on Unplanned Pregnancies Draws Pro-Life Objections

AGI report shows contraceptives are ineffective

AGI Study Shows Access to Contraceptives Doesn't Stop Unplanned Pregnancies

New Study: Morning After Pill Doesn't Reduce Abortion, Pregnancy Rates

Morning-after pill expert admits it will not reduce pregnancies or abortions

Planned Parenthood seeks more abortion referrals, revenue in MN suburbs

Hard to believe but really happening

"Responsible sex education" is irresponsible

Planned Parenthood can't be serious

Pro-choice organizations are silent about forced abortions in China

Notes:

The study found that increased access to the "morning after" pill did not lower pregnancy rates, because many women did not use the pills. In fact, only 55 percent of the women who had the pills already in their possession took them following sexual intercourse.

Regardless of which of the three control groups the women were placed in, the results showed the same percentage of women in each group had sex, contracted sexually transmitted diseases and became pregnant at the same rates.