Illinois action blog

Friday, September 28, 2007

Join in on the debate

Hi everyone, I'm Veronica, the new blogger for Planned Parenthood Aurora. I'll be doing a lot of posts as I allow the staff to get back to their jobs of providing reproductive health care to the people of the Chicago region.

Are you just as frustrated by the Aurora situation as I am? I know you are! Are you also frustrated by the general animosity towards women's bodies and our reproductive rights? We're in luck! There's a townhall meeting at UIC on October 11th:
The Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, The Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council, and the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum present...

Understanding Reproductive Justice:
Reclaiming Choice and Broadening the Movement

Thursday, October 11
5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
800 South Halsted Street
Chicago
Free and open to the public.
Reservations are required.

For more information or to reserve your place, contact the Illinois Caucus
for Adolescent Health online,
by e-mail, or by calling 312.427.4460 x233.
Reservations must be made by October 9


To find out more about the event please see the event's webpage.

Abortion and reproductive health care is often not discussed in public and we need to change that. We need to be talking about our own abortions, how clinics like Planned Parenthood saved us in college when we were poor and needed birth control, or how we're thirty and still relying on Planned Parenthood because we don't have health insurance. Our continued silence only allows those who want to control our bodies to hold the mic.

I have heard from friends, read your comments & blogs. Why weren't there more pro-choice voices at recent City Council meetings? Why did supporters leave meetings early? It is my belief that the history of clinic violence keeps some silent. The fact that the anti-choice leaders picket clinic workers homes keeps us silent. I urge all of you to use your voice. "Show your pro-choice face" was a campaign years ago. I now ask Aurora, the Chicago area, Illinois, and the rest of the country to please let us hear your pro-choice voice.

Did you notice the blog stickers on our side bar? Download one and put it on your blog, your MySpace page, or where ever you hang out online. Print them on stickers and put them on your folders, books, etc. Add us as a friend on MySpace and put us on your top friends! The possibilities are endless. But we need you!

I'd like to thank Planned Parenthood Chicago Area for bringing me on board. I've been a pro-choice activist since college, pro-choice my whole life, and even logged some hours as a clinic volunteer in the Near North clinic. "All I did" was check in clients, but it an important job. Greeting clients with a smile made them feel at ease. It's still mind-boggling that even going for birth control can be controversial. But enough about me.

I was listening to Drex in the Morning on KISS FM a few days ago and he took a call from a young woman who thanked Planned Parenthood for her 4-year-old daughter. The caller said that she had gotten pregnant, her boyfriend & her went to their abortion appointment and as with every woman who walks in they counseled her. It was the PP staff person who helped her realize that she really wanted to carry her pregnancy to term.

Do you have a story of how Planned Parenthood helped you? Share it here in this thread! Send a thank you to that nurse practitioner who gently talked you through your first gynecological exam.

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5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've used planned parenthood not for their family planning services, but for their STD services! After breaking up with an man who had been less the honest with me, they helped me through it. They did more then administer a test, they counsled me and offered me a friendly, safe non judgemental enviroment. When everything came back okay they were just as happy for me as I was!
If the clinic had been in the town where I went to college I would have wondered around for who knows long not knowing as with so many others. To those who say this is just an abortion clinic you are so wrong, Planned Parenthood does so much more and helps keep the spread of STD's to a minimum.

September 28, 2007 at 6:13 PM  
Blogger Alex said...

Planned Parenthood has long been my source for STD testing and Plan B. I've also recommended it to many friends, acquaintances, and people I've mentored- many of whom were previously unaware of how necessary STD testing is, or even the need for Plan B.

I recently wrote about my concern regarding the seeming reluctance of pro-choice advocates to speak openly about their stance. I think it is of dire importance that we try to initiate a dialogue, and I hope other readers of this blog will take the opportunity to discuss their views here, or on their own blogs.

September 28, 2007 at 6:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Veronica,
I think that you are right. We need women who will get up in front of the Aurora City Council next time and tell the story of their abortions. It is not enough to hear from just one women. We need 10 women to tell the council about their experiences. Aurora is the third biggest city in Illinois. There must be women out there who feel the need to talk about it.
Kelly K.

September 28, 2007 at 10:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I had an abortion at the Chicago Planned Parenthood. Having that abortion helped me realize my dreams in life- there may be a time when I want a child, but that time was not then and isn't now. I have also been buying my birth control from PP for years. Thanks Planned Parenthood!

September 28, 2007 at 10:37 PM  
Blogger Jennifer said...

I visited the PP Express in Naperville once (long and thoroughly uninteresting story). It happened to be the anniversary of Roe v. Wade--and there wasn't single a protester anywhere to be seen. It might have had something to do with the record-breaking snowstorm. I think Planned Parenthood was the only store in the plaza that was open. Kudos to the employees for coming to work on a Saturday morning in that weather!

I remember that day every time I see photos or footage of antihchoicers waving signs in short sleeves and plenty of gorgeous sunshine. Once upon a time, I think, my desire to avoid pregnancy was stronger than your desire for me to avoid avoiding pregnancy.

Don't let them intimidate you, Aurora clients. Just imagine how many of them you think would be willing to stand out there if it were 20 below with 50 mph gusts blasting snow in their faces.

October 8, 2007 at 7:31 PM  

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