Topic: planned parenthood

Oklahoma Lashes Out At Planned Parenthood…By Cutting Off Low-Income Families

Oklahoma Lashes Out At Planned Parenthood...By Cutting Off Low-Income Families

There’s terrible, disheartening news today for women and children in Oklahoma. The state is withdrawing federal funding from three Planned Parenthood clinics in Tulsa. The funding, which the clinics received for the past 18 years, was earmarked for the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program. It’s clear that Oklahoma legislators are out to get Planned Parenthood because of its association with birth control and abortions, but low-income mothers and children are the ones who will suffer from the state’s new policy. More »

I’m Getting An IUD Today (And I’m Going To Tweet About It)

I'm Getting An IUD Today (And I'm Going To Tweet About It)

Today is a big day for me. I’m going to duck out of work early, have my boyfriend drive me to Planned Parenthood, and get a copper IUD inserted. Because it is time, because it is the smart thing to do (while I still have some semblance of coverage, thanks to Take Charge), and because I talk a lot about how the silence and shame surrounding birth control is stupid and harmful to women. Basically, I’m putting my money where my cervix is. Today. More »

Planned Parenthood Breast Health Initiative: A Missed Opportunity In Women’s Health?

Planned Parenthood Breast Health Initiative: A Missed Opportunity In Women's Health?

After Susan G. Komen for the Cure pulled the plug on its funding last spring, Planned Parenthood got a windfall of donations from supporters who came out in droves to back the women’s health non-profit. Yesterday, they announced that the extra money will go towards a new breast health initiative–a slap in the face of critics who’d have you believe that their health clinics are just abortion super-centers disguised as health clinics. It’s hard–and, I recognize, very unpopular–to criticize anyone for providing free mammograms, but I’m going to say it: They might be proving critics wrong, but in sticking with the standard line in breast cancer care, I think Planned Parenthood missed an important opportunity to further women’s health. More »

Video: Elizabeth Banks Has A Heavy Flow, Doesn’t Want To Have To Talk To Her Boss About It

Video: Elizabeth Banks Has A Heavy Flow, Doesn't Want To Have To Talk To Her Boss About It

We’ve loved Elizabeth Banks and her super-open approach to women’s health care for a while now. But in a new video, she goes to bat for Planned Parenthood because, as she puts it, they were her health care provider when she didn’t have insurance. Also, she discusses her “heavy flow,” which delights me. Hooray for more period talk! More »

Shocker: Planned Parenthood Says Romney Is Wrong For Women, Officially Backing Obama

Shocker: Planned Parenthood Says Romney Is Wrong For Women, Officially Backing Obama

Planned Parenthood announced their official endorsement of President Obama in the 2012 election today, simultaneously launching a $1.4 million ad campaign to spread the message in swing states that Mitt Romney is “out of touch and wrong for women.” The television ads are airing in Palm Beach, Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Des Moines, and feature video clips of Romney stating his own policies when it comes to women’s reproductive rights and funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood. More »

Anti-Abortion Group Unfairly Attacks Planned Parenthood For Sex-Selective Abortions

Anti-Abortion Group Unfairly Attacks Planned Parenthood For Sex-Selective Abortions

An anti-abortion group is attacking Planned Parenthood again. This time, they have gone undercover and released a video showing a Planned Parenthood employee supporting a pregnant woman who wanted a late term, sex-selective abortion if the fetus was a girl. It’s a controversial investigation that raises a lot of ethical questions, including a woman’s true right to choose and the role that Planned Parenthood should play in situations like this. More »

Fewer Women Racing For The Cure This Year: Bad For Komen, Good For Women?

Fewer Women Racing For The Cure This Year: Bad For Komen, Good For Women?

On Sunday, the Susan G. Komen Foundation will hold its annual Mother’s Day Race for the Cure, one of the organization’s biggest fundraising events. But this year, race registrations around the country have dropped significantly, a situation most are attributing to Komen’s February decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood (a move it later reneged on amidst public outrage). More »

Arizona Follows Texas’ Lead, Passes Law To Defund Planned Parenthood

Arizona Follows Texas' Lead, Passes Law To Defund Planned Parenthood

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law Friday a bill blocking all state funds from Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers (because, you know, that’s working out so well for Texas …). The Republican-backed bill, delightfully named the “Whole Women’s Health Funding Priority Act,” would cut off funding for family planning and gynecological health services provided by any organization that also performs abortions, even though such organizations are already prohibited from using government money to fund abortion services. More »

Blood Clot Warning Added To Birth Control Pills Like Yaz: What To Know

Blood Clot Warning Added To Birth Control Pills Like Yaz: What To Know

The Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this week that it would add stronger warning labels to Yaz, Yasmin and other birth control pills containing drospirenone (a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone) about the associated risk of blood clots. But, the FDA emphasized, the risk is still small; smaller, in fact, than the risk of blood clots during pregnancy or the postpartum period, and small enough that women taking the pill shouldn’t worry and should “continue taking their pills as directed unless told otherwise by their healthcare professional.” But headlines like “FDA’s Yasmin and Yaz Blood Clots Warning is a Victory for Consumers” and “The Birth Control Warning You Need To Know About” would make you believe otherwise. So we spoke to Planned Parenthood‘s Vice President of External Medical Affairs, Vanessa Cullins, to find out what we really need to know. More »

Planned Parenthood Rejects Money From Tucker Max; PETA Says They’ll Take It

Planned Parenthood Rejects Money From Tucker Max; PETA Says They'll Take It

Was Planned Parenthood right to reject a $500,000 contribution from renowned misogynist ass Tucker Max? On the one side: It’s a contribution from a renowned misogynist ass, and it came with conditions like naming an abortion clinic after him. But Planned Parenthood of Texas, where Max tried to make his donation, isn’t exactly rolling in dough (thanks to some other renowned misogynist asses, who’ve made sure the organization can receive neither local or federal funding in the state). Half a million dollars seems like a lot of money to sneer at—as does the chance to talk about why even renowned misogynist asses can support women’s healthcare access. More »

Obama Makes Women Love Him Again With This Pro-Planned Parenthood Statement

Obama Makes Women Love Him Again With This Pro-Planned Parenthood Statement

Some Republicans have certainly done their share to alienate women over the past few months with their ridiculous stances on women’s health, birth control and abortion. But alas, President Obama shows us that not all politicians are created equal. In his new video entitled A Message to Planned Parenthood Supporters, Obama just scored some major points with us. More »

5 Questions For Planned Parenthood On Funding, Abortion, and Contraceptive Access

5 Questions For Planned Parenthood On Funding, Abortion, and Contraceptive Access


Planned Parenthood has been at the center of some of the most important political debates in the past few months—over their funding, abortion services, and contraceptive access for women in the country at large. In the process, we’ve seen a lot of competing information about what they do and don’t offer, how they get their money, and how well they support women’s health. To clarify, we asked them to respond to some of the biggest criticisms of late—including the ones charged by former Planned Parenthood Director Abby Johnson—and clarify the facts. More »