Planned Parenthood & Problem of STDs This paper will discuss the Planned Parenthood a

This paper will discuss the Planned Parenthood agency and the extent to which it addresses the problem of sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) among young people. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of STD's among youth. For example, McGregor, French & Spencer (1989) have pointed out that an increasing number of sexually-active teenage girls are acquiring "pelvic inflammatory disease" (p. 680). In addition, young people have been increasingly subjected to such STD's as syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, vaginitis, and AIDS. Planned Parenthood was originally created for the purpose of teaching people about contraceptives and birth control. This role evolved over the years and today the agency is also concerned with teaching its clients about the threat of STD's and how to prevent them. This paper will examine three journal articles relating to the problem of STD's. The information in these articles will be used in order to assess the extent to which Planned Parenthood is teaching and promoting safe sex practices among its young clients. Further information on the activities of Planned Parenthood will be derived from a review of literature on the subject, as well as from a telephone interview which was conducted with a spokesperson for the agency.

In the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, McGregor, French & Spencer (1989) discuss the prevention of STD's among women. The authors note that the risk of such disease

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mproved education in terms of reducing STD's among young people. Thus, "all clients should receive at least basic education on the modes of HIV transmission and the types of high-risk behavior associated with it" (p. 64). In all three of these articles, it was agreed that young people are at risk of STD's. In addition, all of the articles agreed that young women are showing signs of becoming increasingly vulnerable to such diseases. All three articles stressed the importance of the use of condoms and other contraceptives in reducing the threat of STD's. Furthermore, all three articles emphasized the importance of education in reducing STD's among young people. It may be noted that the Planned Parenthood organization agrees in principle with all of these perspectives. The origins of Planned Parenthood can be traced to the early 1900's and the activities of Margaret Sanger. Sanger founded the "National Birth Control League," a volunteer organization concerned primarily with helping poor women learn more about contraception and other birth control options. Initially, Planned Parenthood focused its efforts on helping poor women who were denied access to expensive medical clinics. Over time, this agenda was expanded to in

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