Over the next year, 50 Planned Parenthood-run “Health Centers” will open in Los Angeles County. The goal is simple: Help teenagers become sexually active without any parental involvement.
Of course, this isn’t the stated goal. According to a Los Angeles Times story on the new venture, Planned Parenthood is there to care for the “much-needed health and wellness” needs of at-risk teenagers. This, according to the county, will help “free” the students to focus on learning. The 50 centers will cost $12 million during the first year alone.
California law allows minors over the age of 12 to obtain birth control and related treatment confidentially, without parental consent. The only obstacle Planned Parenthood faced in getting to these children was transportation. Now, that problem is solved.
Planned Parenthood’s strategy has evolved towards targeting younger girls. New Planned Parenthood sex education curricula are being incorporated in elementary schools. (To become truly horrified at what this training entails, read what a former sex educator had to say about it.) Teens who have already been taught a skewed view of sexuality in elementary school can have access to birth control and abortion counseling during study hall.
According to the LA Times health educators holding master’s degrees in public health will run these centers, not doctors or nurses. Students can come and talk about anything they want, confidentially, in a “cozy and comfortable” environment filled with stuffed toys and plush furniture. Los Angeles County has committed public funding keeping the centers open for the next five years.
The saddest reality is that students in these schools truly have a need for support in this arena. These students are dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, and STDs at increasingly high levels. But, we know that support from Planned Parenthood—license to more sexual activity, sexual experimentation, and the like—won’t offer any hope or help to this vulnerable population. Sexual freedom, outside the context of God’s design, only leads to more depression, anxiety, stress, and coping mechanisms like drugs and alcohol.
And what’s even more tragic is that these centers are positioned as helpful to children who aren’t comfortable talking to their parents. The LA Times piece opens with the story of a girl who feels ready to be sexually active with her boyfriend but, “is not yet comfortable talking to her mom” about it.
Planned Parenthood is right there, ready to parent any willing child.
Though LA Public Health Department officials believe these centers will reduce school absenteeism and the frequency of sexually transmitted infections, it seems more likely that the results will be just the opposite. Hopefully, the school districts will stay true to this metric and shut down the clinics in a few years if they don’t see these outcomes. But, we know Planned Parenthood is a business, one that fills its coffers one abortion at a time. What’s most apparent here is that Planned Parenthood has positioned itself to put young and vulnerable girls on a path where their services may someday be needed.