"Planned Parenthood is trying to create another problem so they can then cry to the government for more money to solve it," said Ed Szymkowiak, national director of STOPP International.
Szymkowiak was referring to a report from Planned Parenthood's research arm, the Alan Guttmacher Institute. The report, "Is It Abstinence or Is It Sex?" (Family Planning Perspectives, Nov./Dec. 2000), implies that there is an increase in various types of sexual behavior among teens. "There's no statistical basis for this article. It's just a string of anecdotes from various 'sexperts,'" Szymkowiak said.
"I suspect Planned Parenthood will try to parlay this supposed new teen sex crisis into more tax dollars for their so-called 'safer sex' programs," Szymkowiak said. "Such a tactic would fit well into their current campaign against the recent shift of Congressional funding toward abstinence-only education."
Szymkowiak warned that Planned Parenthood also distorts the meaning of abstinence and virginity in an effort to have its own sex-ed programs qualify for funding. "They want kids to view abstinence as simply avoiding sex acts that can result in pregnancy," he said, adding that according to Planned Parenthood, kids can engage in other deviant sexual practices and still be considered abstinent. Planned Parenthood's teenwire.com website even tells kids that people who engage in homosexual acts are still virgins.
"Such deviant sexual activity, aside from being morally illicit, can be deadly when one considers the diseases that can be transmitted, even when a condom is used," said Szymkowiak. Planned Parenthood's own report -- in Family Planning Perspectives, March/April 1998 -- stated that a result of condom availability programs in high schools is a significant increase in females engaging in various deviant sexual acts.
"If Planned Parenthood really cared about teenage girls, it would not promote such degrading activity," said Szymkowiak. "The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is contrary to its purpose. It is not enough for teens to simply abstain from acts that can cause pregnancy; we must teach our children to be truly chaste."
