A Reflection on The Planned Parenthood Field Trip

Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that provides reproductive healthcare and family planning services. It’s a designed program to help men, women, and teens decide on many important decisions and procedures regarding abortions, pregnancy, STD’s, contraception, and many other things surrounding women's reproductive health overall. For this field trip, my sister and I went to the Planned Parenthood in Worcester. 

Prior to going, my sister called to make an appointment to get an IUD. Scheduling an appointment to get this procedure done was just like making an appointment at a regular doctor's office. They were patient and understanding. In today’s society, Planned Parenthood is a controversial topic because of people who believe it should be banned and is continued due to the pro-life argument. To a lot of the mass media and the government, Planned Parenthood is seen as an abortion clinic, but there are many things paired to this topic. Because of the recent decreases and defunding in Planned Parenthood clinics, they are especially concerned with sending the message to the public on what the majority of the money goes towards at a Planned Parenthood clinic. Before I went there, I did some more research on this argument, I found out that, the majority of the money doesn’t go towards abortions; most of the money goes towards medical services (63%), non-medical program services (18%), management and general support (13%), fundraising (5%), and other (1%). When my sister and I showed up to the clinic for her procedure, I was nervous because before we were walking in, we had eyes staring at us. She signed in with the receptionist and waited for her name to be called. As we waited, she filled out a lot of paperwork regarding insurance and her overall health. Prior to procedure day, she had talked on the phone with a receptionist about the most effective and cheapest cost of getting the IUD procedure done regarding her health insurance plan. From her what she’d heard and researched about, she learned that certain health insurance providers can cover the IUD procedure, or most planned parenthood health centers accept Medicaid so they can cover or charge you less for whatever birth control you decide to get.

Once she was called in, several nurses took her blood pressure, weight, and height. Inside was really welcoming. They have the necessary procedures and prevention of health risks which is all plastered on the wall. The doctor's office was really well decorated. It had plants next to her desk. The color of the room was a cool light blue. Before the doctor came into the room, the nurse walked her through background information about the IUD itself, what it will do, and making sure this was the right option for her. She said the nurses there were very persistent in making sure she knew all the other contraceptive options and that she understood everything dealing with birth control. After the procedure was completed, the doctor and nurses gave her a booklet of information on the type of IUD she got, the procedure, the advantages and effects of it, and information on removal of the IUD if she chooses to do so. I was surprised that they didn’t only do abortion which I’ve heard since my life of how Planned Parenthood only practiced abortion. Also, when people talk about planned parenthood, it wasn’t what I witnessed. It was more like educating you on sexual relations. I would definitely recommend this to anyone and to myself. They don’t only educate you but also walk step by step with you in the process.