A Planned Parenthood billboard has only been up a week in one South Memphis neighborhood, but some people there already want it to come down.To be honest, I'm more bothered by the message than I am the graphic. Getting It On isn't free. It comes with a lot of serious consequences -- moral, medical, emotional, and financial.
They say the billboard, which includes the message “Getting It On Is Free” and a picture of a condom, is too graphic.
“I was shocked. I was appalled that anyone would put up a picture of condom,” said Karen Wallace.
Karen Wallace works at a church nearby and has to drive by the billboard every day.
She said what is worse it’s right next to an elementary school cross walk.
“The graphic was not necessary the message was enough,” said Wallace.
Supporters of Planned Parenthood (PP) defend its mission as a noble one. They like to pretend that it's all about promoting safe sex, fighting STDs, avoiding unwanted pregnancy, and, as their mission statement claims, the "enhancement of the quality of life and strong family relationships." But the policies and actions PP promotes are far more insidious. They do not simply promote safe sex; they promote promiscuous and irresponsible sex that is directly destructive to quality life and strong families. A billboard erected directly in the path of young school children and encouraging them to Get It On is hardly a noble thing.
Condoms, even when used perfectly, are not infallible. According to the Center for Disease Control, they offer a "high degree" of protection against some STDs, but significantly less against others (e.g. herpes, HPV, syphilis, chancroid). The Pearl Index reports that condoms are 98% effective in preventing pregnancy, again when used perfectly.
But that's under ideal conditions in the laboratory. What happens in the real world is quite another matter. The Pearl Index reports that with typical use, condom effectiveness drops to as low as 82%. This means an average person has about a 1 in 5 chance of getting pregnant over the course of a year. It also suggests that condoms don't offer a "high degree" of protection against STDs -- which include gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and HIV, in addition to those listed above.
It's also a good bet that the young kids PP is targeting and handing out free condoms to aren't as nearly as careful or as diligent as a "typical user." In other words, what PP is selling as "safe" and "free" sex is, in fact, high risk behavior. But not to worry, at least as far as pregnancy goes, since PP just happens to be the largest provider of abortions in the country. How convenient.
To all this, PP supporters will argue, "but they're going to do it anyway." And some of them will. Be we can be sure a lot more of them will when we keep telling them it's "safe" and "free" and shoving condoms in their hands.
And don't even get me started on the fact that tax payers gave Planned Parenthood over half a billion dollars last year when we're $17 trillion dollars in debt.
One last thing, not because it's compelling, but just because it's so damn annoying. When the CEO of the Memphis chapter of PP was asked for comment about the billboard, she said,
A condom is not an explicit image it’s just a piece of latex and children see explicit images all the time on the internet, in commercials and in the movies. We are trying to promote healthy relationships and save lives.I wonder if an NRA spokesman could get away with such a vacuous line: "A gun is not a symbol of violence; it's just a piece of metal." I bet the same Leftists that think PP is so wonderful and noble would have a cow.
Update: From the comments on The Corner:
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