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Planned Parenthood offers sex-ed services to schools
By Rebekah Danaher
Daily News staff writer
When Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin representatives read in a December issue of the Beloit Daily News that Beloit School Board President John Winkelmann recommended including their agency in the Human Growth and Development curriculum, the agency contacted the district and offered services.
The organization has been following the district's ongoing discussion about the HGD curriculum and Vice President of Community Education Lorraine Lathen said some excerpts of the curriculum she has read have given her cause for concern.
She characterized the curriculum as placing heavy emphasis on abstinence and what she feels to be squeamishness about teaching the use of condoms and other birth control methods.
Lathen believes the curriculum is not comprehensive enough in educating young people on how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases.
While abstinence is a main piece of Planned Parenthood's educational campaign, Lathen said, the organization seeks to provide a more comprehensive scope, including education on condoms and other contraception.
Following the mention of Planned Parenthood at the school board meeting and having received inquiries from Beloit residents, Lathen said the organization offered educational services to the district.
"The reason that we have remained interested is because people have contacted us in Madison," she said.
Comprehensive sexuality, community outreach, professional training, faith-based initiatives and peer education are among the other programs offered by Planned Parenthood's Community Education Department, which are geared toward community awareness and education on issues of sexuality and health.
Having researched health data and noting a higher pregnancy rate among youth in their late teens, Lathen said Planned Parenthood has begun targeting students at the middle school and high school levels, hoping to defer sexual activity and to offer information on sexual safety.
Planned Parenthood has been involved in many school districts throughout the state, she said, instructing students on healthy relationships, puberty, pregnancy prevention, avoiding peer pressure, abstinence and making smart choices.
Its newest educational initiative, "Real Life. Real Talk" promotes healthy lifestyles and discusses disease prevention, with the intent of reducing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, according to Lathen.
The workshops are structured differently, depending on the content, with some lasting one hour and others extending as long as 16 weeks.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is a not-for-profit organization and is supported primarily by private donations and receives some federal dollars.
Their 31 Wisconsin clinics offer HIV and STD screening, pregnancy testing and Pap tests. Abortions are provided at their Milwaukee, Madison and Appleton locations and make up five percent of their services, according to Lathen.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, an affiliate of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, is a political extension of the organization and is more active in lobbying and campaigning.
Lathen said the School District of Beloit has not responded to its offers but the organization plans to send informational materials to administrators.
Winkelmann said the school board has no intention of including Planned Parenthood in its curriculum but said it would be a decision for the HGD committee to make.
The board will vote on the curriculum at its Jan. 25 meeting.
If the curriculum is approved changes may still be made, but Winkelmann said it would be up to the committee to decide if Planned Parenthood should be invited into the district.
HGD committee chair Therese Oldenburg said she had listened to the comments from parents and community members at the many public hearings and saw no reason to add Planned Parenthood to the curriculum's list of speakers.
"It did not look as if any parent had asked for that to be introduced," she said. "Speaking as a member of the committee who has been listening to the public, what I heard was loud and clear. I reviewed all of the communications to the board members and not one of them was requesting that we bring Planned Parenthood in."
Oldenburg said she believes the information offered by Planned Parenthood can be effectively covered by district health teachers and nurses.
The Family Research Institute of Wisconsin is another organization that has been monitoring the HGD debate and Executive Director Julaine Appling said parents should be wary of Planned Parenthood's agenda.
She cautioned that the organization's comprehensive sex education provides too much "how-to" information and keeps parents in the dark about their childrens' activity.
Their methods, she said, encourage sexual activity and often counsel in favor of abortion.
The organization has been following the district's ongoing discussion about the HGD curriculum and Vice President of Community Education Lorraine Lathen said some excerpts of the curriculum she has read have given her cause for concern.
She characterized the curriculum as placing heavy emphasis on abstinence and what she feels to be squeamishness about teaching the use of condoms and other birth control methods.
Lathen believes the curriculum is not comprehensive enough in educating young people on how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases.
While abstinence is a main piece of Planned Parenthood's educational campaign, Lathen said, the organization seeks to provide a more comprehensive scope, including education on condoms and other contraception.
Following the mention of Planned Parenthood at the school board meeting and having received inquiries from Beloit residents, Lathen said the organization offered educational services to the district.
"The reason that we have remained interested is because people have contacted us in Madison," she said.
Comprehensive sexuality, community outreach, professional training, faith-based initiatives and peer education are among the other programs offered by Planned Parenthood's Community Education Department, which are geared toward community awareness and education on issues of sexuality and health.
Having researched health data and noting a higher pregnancy rate among youth in their late teens, Lathen said Planned Parenthood has begun targeting students at the middle school and high school levels, hoping to defer sexual activity and to offer information on sexual safety.
Planned Parenthood has been involved in many school districts throughout the state, she said, instructing students on healthy relationships, puberty, pregnancy prevention, avoiding peer pressure, abstinence and making smart choices.
Its newest educational initiative, "Real Life. Real Talk" promotes healthy lifestyles and discusses disease prevention, with the intent of reducing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, according to Lathen.
The workshops are structured differently, depending on the content, with some lasting one hour and others extending as long as 16 weeks.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is a not-for-profit organization and is supported primarily by private donations and receives some federal dollars.
Their 31 Wisconsin clinics offer HIV and STD screening, pregnancy testing and Pap tests. Abortions are provided at their Milwaukee, Madison and Appleton locations and make up five percent of their services, according to Lathen.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, an affiliate of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, is a political extension of the organization and is more active in lobbying and campaigning.
Lathen said the School District of Beloit has not responded to its offers but the organization plans to send informational materials to administrators.
Winkelmann said the school board has no intention of including Planned Parenthood in its curriculum but said it would be a decision for the HGD committee to make.
The board will vote on the curriculum at its Jan. 25 meeting.
If the curriculum is approved changes may still be made, but Winkelmann said it would be up to the committee to decide if Planned Parenthood should be invited into the district.
HGD committee chair Therese Oldenburg said she had listened to the comments from parents and community members at the many public hearings and saw no reason to add Planned Parenthood to the curriculum's list of speakers.
"It did not look as if any parent had asked for that to be introduced," she said. "Speaking as a member of the committee who has been listening to the public, what I heard was loud and clear. I reviewed all of the communications to the board members and not one of them was requesting that we bring Planned Parenthood in."
Oldenburg said she believes the information offered by Planned Parenthood can be effectively covered by district health teachers and nurses.
The Family Research Institute of Wisconsin is another organization that has been monitoring the HGD debate and Executive Director Julaine Appling said parents should be wary of Planned Parenthood's agenda.
She cautioned that the organization's comprehensive sex education provides too much "how-to" information and keeps parents in the dark about their childrens' activity.
Their methods, she said, encourage sexual activity and often counsel in favor of abortion.
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