Dedicated to reducing the number of unintended youth pregnancies and promoting optimal health for sexually active women and men, Planned Parenthood has provided numerous reproductive services since its 1966 establishment in Southwestern Oregon.
Each year, Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon helps more than 30,000 people make healthy, responsible sexual decisions. It is considered the area’s major resource for sexual education. Planned Parenthood offers counseling and provides contraceptives and clinical services.
The atmosphere at a Planned Parenthood clinic is caring, professional and certain to calm any youthful anxiety around sex.
Privacy is treasured at Planned Parenthood; all patient information is guarded from any third party, including parents and insurance companies.
All services at Planned Parenthood are performed by female nurse practitioners, but men are welcome and encouraged to visit Planned Parenthood.
Aside from complete confidentiality and an understanding staff, one major benefit in seeking treatment at Planned Parenthood is the affordability of its services. For most patients, the advice and care offered by Planned Parenthood are free.
“Most students qualify for free services and birth control,” said Diane Duke, senior vice president of Planned Parenthood in Eugene.
These services include a women’s annual exams, HIV testing, emergency contraception, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, birth control and more. Planned Parenthood also offers counseling, and skill-based programs for young adults on a variety of topics, including abstinence, birth control, sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS. Additionally, Planned Parenthood offers a free-loan video library featuring tapes on various issues relating to sexuality, family life and reproductive health.
“We just encourage students to take care of themselves and be safe,” Duke said.
Planned Parenthood also provides free pregnancy testing and counseling regarding the available options for young women if the results of a pregnancy test are positive.
The Family Planning Expansion Project, a federal program that provides affordable reproductive and family-planning services, funds most of the services provided by Planned Parenthood. Implemented in January 1999, FPEP began as a five-year Medicaid project to expand reproductive health-care coverage for those with a gross income below the poverty line. The project’s goals were to decrease the number of unintended
pregnancies and improve the well-being of families and children. With its current success, the program has since been renewed through 2006.
A 2001 survey conducted by the Oregon Department of Human Services found cost as the main reason women don’t use or stopped using effective methods of birth control. Another barrier to effective contraception was difficulty or misunderstanding of method use. By providing free contraception and contraception counseling, FPEP eliminates these two barriers.
Patients covered by FPEP are allotted one annual exam and HIV test per year. However, a patient can be tested for sexually transmitted infections as often as every week. Professionals at the clinic recommend being tested for STIs every time a new relationship begins. It is also recommended that protection from STIs, such as condoms, be used every time during intercourse.
Although FPEP funds many of the services Planned Parenthood provides, donations and contributions are key to clinics’ survival. The organization offers a wide variety of donor options, including memorial gifts and memberships where the patron contributes a certain amount per year. Planned Parenthood relies on the support of the community to help fund necessary programs and services.
Planned Parenthood also asks community members to get involved and advocate for women’s reproductive rights. There are several opportunities for advocacy through Planned Parenthood, including campus organizations at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University.
“(These organizations) provide a way for students to get politically involved,” said Rose Kelsch, public affairs representative of Planned Parenthood.
An example of a campus organization advocating reproductive health care issues is Students for Choice. Planned Parenthood collaborates with the student-run group, but Kelsch stresses that students are the pivotal component of effectiveness within the group.
“Students are key in advocacy,” Kelsch said.
To get involved in Students for Choice or similar organizations, contact the University’s field organizer or become active via e-mail through Planned Parenthood’s Reproductive Choices Action Network. To become an RCAN member, sign on to the Planned Parenthood Web site www.pphsso.org. More information is available at all clinic sites, or by calling Planned Parenthood’s Public Affairs Department at 342-6042.
The Eugene Planned Parenthood clinic is located close to campus, at 1670 High St. There are also express clinics, where only birth control and emergency contraception are provided, located in North Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove and Junction City.