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Planned ParenthoodThe formal name for the organization is "Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc." It is also known by the abbreviation "PPFA". is the name of several federations of health clinics that are spread out across the world, (the International Planned Parenthood Federation , various regional federations, as well as country-specific ones) focusing on issues related to Reproductive Rights . It is both a reproductive services provider and a political organization that seeks to advance and preserve the legal status of the services it provides. It is a vocal political advocate of comprehensive Sex Education and holds a Pro-choice position on the issue of Abortion and expression of sexuality. This article focuses on the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). FACILITIES AND FUNDING PPFA is a federation of 120 independent Planned Parenthood affiliates around the United States. These affiliates together operate nearly 850 locations, offering a variety of services to more than 5 million women, men and teens each year. Services include contraceptive ( Birth Control ) services; Emergency Contraception ; screening for Breast , Cervical and Testicular cancers; Pregnancy Test ing and Pregnancy Options Counseling ; Abortion services; testing and treatment for Sexually Transmitted Disease s; Sexuality Education , Menopause treatments; Vasectomies and Tubal Ligation s, and more. Not all services are available at all locations. According to a recent statement from Karen Pearl, recent past interim president of PPFA, Planned Parenthood is the "largest source of reproductive health care in the (United States)".This statement appears as the opening statement in a letter signed by Karen Pearl (noted as "Interim President") distributed with a petition sent through the United States mail in 2005. HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION Planned Parenthood began as the National Birth Control League , which was founded in 1916 under the leadership of Mary Ware Dennett, a friend of Margaret Sanger . The organization was later renamed the American Birth Control League under the direction of Sanger, a Birth Control and family planning advocate who had been jailed numerous times for breaking New York 's Comstock Law s against disseminating birth control information. Sanger had fled to England to avoid arrest at the time the National Birth Control League was founded. The League was influential in liberalizing laws against birth control throughout the 1920s and 1930s before changing its name to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. in 1942 . STAND ON POLITICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES
Planned Parenthood also opposes abstinence-only education in public schools. Instead, it favors (and offers) comprehensive sex education, which includes discussion of both abstinence and birth control. Due to their pro-choice stance Planned Parenthood generally supports Democratic Party candidates, though it has invested significantly in political efforts amongst Republicans who uphold a pro-choice stance. CONTROVERSY AND CRITICISM this link no longer works and a verified authentic replacement has not yet been identified, though this page claims to have links to the animation; Internet Archive does not currently list entries for the www.ppgg.org site after March 2005 |
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