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Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup

Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup

ONLY 5 WEIGHT WATCHER POINTS! Before listing the recipe for this amazingly delicious and easy-to-make soup, I must make a disclosure regarding the Weight Watcher points. It is 5 WW points using the old system. I'm not sure what it is with the new system, but I'm sure it is still a low points meal. I'm guessing it will be around 8 points.  2 cu...

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School Lunches...Where's the Nutrition?

School Lunches...Where's the Nutrition?

So, let me get this straight, studies indicate that when children are eating healthy foods they do better academically, are more alert, and have more energy throughout the day. If this is the case then why do the schools give children unhealthy food choices on a daily basis? This seems contradictory. When I worked as a school nurse I would often be...

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My Experience with Planned Parenthood

For those of you that are pro life/anti-abortion, you are going to love this article because it is about preventing abortions. I feel it is important with any topic to have a wide view with an open heart rather than a narrow view with an angry heart.

First let me start from the beginning. I was 16 when I first went to Planned Parenthood. I was not having sex and had decided I wanted to wait until I was in a long-term meaningful relationship before having sexual relations. However, I had horrible dysmenorrhea, which is painful cramps during menstruation. On the first day of my period I writhed in pain all day and had cramps so severe that I would vomit. I actually hoped I would vomit because that was the only time I had relief from the cramping pain. I had heard that birth control pills could help this situation and was willing to try anything.

At the time, my family situation was not the greatest and my parents had their own individual issues as well as marital issues and were going through a divorce. I had emotionally distanced myself from them and did not feel comfortable talking to either of them about this. I also knew that my Mother would not believe me and not approve. She would have thought I was lying and was actually having sex. We had the conversation in the past and she accused me of not being a virgin. So I, like most teenage girls, needed confidential healthcare.

Most girls do not feel comfortable talking to their parents about birth control and are terrified of their parents knowing they are being sexually active. That’s just the reality. Most girls I knew were going to Planned Parenthood for birth control and if they hadn’t, they would have become pregnant. It was our safe place. A place we could get the care we needed in confidence, thereby preventing pregnancy, thereby preventing abortion (in most cases). If you dislike people having abortions, you should be all for what Planned Parenthood does to prevent pregnancy.

So I went to Planned Parenthood and was placed on birth control which completely eliminated the dysmenorrhea. When I lost my virginity by date rape a year later I was very glad that I was on birth control. After the rape I was terrified and definitely did not feel comfortable telling my family about what happened. I went to Planned Parenthood to make sure I was physically ok. It was the only place I could turn to for help.

By the way, I did not have health insurance during this time, but I was able to go to Planned Parenthood and get the care I needed. There was no were else to go. Planned Parenthood was a Godsend.

I used the services of Planned Parenthood even after I was married because I could not get health insurance through my work and could not afford to get it on my own. My husband and I wanted to plan our pregnancy and wait to have children and Planned Parenthood made that possible. I was also able to get yearly preventative physicals/cancer screenings.

If it were not for Planned Parenthood, there would be so many more unplanned pregnancies. It is ignorance to just focus on the abortion component of it, and for the record, not all Planned Parenthoods conduct abortions. I would say most do not. I am not a fan of abortions, but I also know that Planned Parenthood does so many great things regarding women’s health.

If you are against abortions stop putting so much energy into complaining about Planned Parenthood and put that energy into preventing unwanted pregnancies in the first place. You are a buttface if you think it is ok to complain about something without having a solution or helping the solution. If you don’t like it, do something about it, but do something constructive and effective. Start a program to increase self-esteem amongst girls so they won’t turn to sex for feelings of fulfillment or love. Become a foster parent, adopt a chid in the foster system, educate our youth, get involved with our youth in a positive way…ask the one program in our nation that is trying to do something to prevent unwanted pregnancy by giving access to birth control to everyone, what you can do to help prevent unwanted pregnancies. That one program, is call Planned Parenthood. Let me know if you need their number.

Sincerely Sick of Ignorance and Narrow-Minded Thinking,

Lisa Karen

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