From the Rebel Yell:
“I’ll be honest, I just thought they did abortions.”
Gabriella Keys, 20, a future broadcasting student at the College of Southern Nevada, expressed a common misconception people have about the 90-year-old organization Planned Parenthood. While they advocate choice, Planned Parenthood-affiliated health centers don’t actually perform abortions in Nevada.
That’s why Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada organized its day-long “Live Action Camp” on April 5. For its activists, it was an opportunity to learn about the history, the services and message of Planned Parenthood.
The major item on the agenda was comprehensive sex education, to which Planned Parenthood wants to take a more holistic approach rather than touting abstinence as the end-all of sex education.
A recent survey in Florida found that students believed a shot of Mountain Dew will stop pregnancy and drinking a cap of bleach will protect against HIV. Alarming news like that spurred lawmakers to rethink the abstinence-only sex education programs.
With reports from the Centers for Disease Control stating that one in four teenage girls have a sexually transmitted disease, Planned Parenthood’s only conclusion is that it is a direct effect of abstinence-only programs.
With the highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation, Nevada may also need a revamping of its sex education programs.
Although Nevada advocates comprehensive sex education, there are no set curriculums.
Laura Deitsch is the program manager for Planned Parenthood and she goes out to community organizations like Child Haven to talk about sexual health.
“What kids learn is very inconsistent…Teachers and school nurses are the only people allowed to talk about sexual education … And that can vary,” Deitsch said
Efforts are being made to rectify the gaps in students’ education. Deitsch is currently trying to start a grass roots movement among teachers so they can receive training.
Deitsch’s students range from middle school to high school age. Sometimes she will go out to university courses to guest lecture. With her younger students, she likes to use concrete actions to get them to remember.
In an exercise to demonstrate how risky behaviors like sharing needles and having unsafe sex can spread HIV, Deitsch gave all 11 participants a cup of water. Then she had everyone relive high school: from awkward freshmen getting to go to prom, to graduation night when seniors let loose. At each year, participants had to share half of their water with a different person and receive half back.
At the end, Deitsch put a little dropper into their cups. Nine out of 11 participants were symbolically infected with HIV. Only one of the cups was infected at the beginning.
Apart from giving participants information, camp host Annette Magnus of Planned Parenthood also gave them the chance to be activist leaders.
One hour was dedicated to phone banking on the issue of rising birth control prices. Activists called Planned Parenthood supporters, asking them to volunteer their time at the Democratic or Republican conventions and at upcoming events.
On the corner of Valley View Boulevard and Charleston Boulevard, participants stood on opposing corners in bright pink shirts, holding bright pink signs. In the 45 minutes out there, they got 48 honks for protecting women’s health.
Beforehand, participants were briefed on how to act and react toward supporters or confronters.
Packets of information sheets were handed to participants instructing them on how to conduct street demonstrations, write letters to the editor, how to have a successful lobby visit, phone banking and writing to legislators.
The five-hour long “camp” left participants feeling better informed. Participants from every background attended the camp, including septuagenarians to sophomores in college, to law school graduates and substitute teachers.
Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada has three locations on Flamingo Road, Charleston Boulevard and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. More information on services can be found on pprm.org. To volunteer, contact the local branches.
