PLANNED Parenthood is a national, non-profit organization with over 850 health centers across the United States that help individuals and couples plan parenthood. Planned Parenthood believes that a pregnancy should be wanted and anticipated. To this end, the new Herbert Jones Center for Reproductive Health and Education is a comprehensive medical and educational facility, offering the full range of reproductive choices to women, including on-site adoption services through the Children's Home Society of Virginia and prenatal care beginning next April. There are also many educational resources in the library, including pamphlets on practicing safe sex, methods of contraception and how to talk to your children about sexuality.
The zoning appeal of last week's public hearing, filed by the Central Virginia Family Forum, challenges the zoning status of the new facility on Hydraulic Road. Their central argument is that the center is being used as a hospital instead of a medical center. However, the center does not, and never has, functioned as a hospital. The medical facility includes rooms that meet architectural standards of a hospital -- attempting to anticipate Virginia legislation which will requirehospital-like structures for medical centers. This potential legislation, which would require operating room size doors for any medical center, is being pushed by the same people who are opposing the Charlottesville center and claiming that "the use [of the center] has changed."
Although the Central Virginia Family Forum filed a zoning complaint, the arguments made during the hearing focused on their objections to abortion -- the true motivation behind this appeal. The construction of the new center on Hydraulic Road obstructs their legislative strategy for restricting access to reproductive health care. Attempting to revoke Planned Parenthood's Certificate of Occupancy under the guise of zoning irregularities is just their latest tactic. Ultimately, the appeals committee sided with Planned Parenthood in a 4-0 decision to allow the center to remain open.
Opponents also argued that the center is too close to Albemarle County High School, which is situated about a mile away on Hydraulic Road. Their claim is that seeing a Planned Parenthood on the way to school might entice promiscuity and encourage high school students to engage in sexual activity. In reality, Planned Parenthood sends the opposite message. At the hearing, two high school students, Elizabeth Snook and Danielle Purpura, testified that Planned Parenthood is a valuable and trusted resource. All teenagers and their families should have access to sex education that is not limited to abstinence; sexually transmitted infections are real, and ignorance harms, even kills. Only medically accurate sex education allows for responsible decision-making and disease prevention, and Planned Parenthood is committed to providing teenagers with this information in confidence.
In addition, all community members should have access to educational materials and counseling to make informed and responsible decisions about the number and the spacing of their children. By providing condoms, birth control and emergency contraception, Planned Parenthood helps prevent unintended pregnancies, which is the key to reducing the number of abortions. Every child deserves to be a loved and a wanted child, and restricting access to safe and legal reproductive health care drives women to unsafe and deadly providers. Whether or not someone supports a woman's right to reproductive choices, we should all work together to prevent unintended pregnancies by encouraging safe sex practices and access to emergency contraception. Birth control and EC are not abortifacients; they have no effect on a fertilized egg that has implanted into the womb.
Planned Parenthood in Charlottesville is an asset to the University community and surrounding counties. At the public hearing, Planned Parenthood supporters greatly exceeded the opposition, numbering 961 people, while the Central Virginia Family Forum reported 175. Planned Parenthood is a respected and appreciated resource and definitely valued by the majority of this community who are pro-choice, pro-child and pro-family.
Kim Goumenis is the president of VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood.
Read More
PATEL: Personal development courses support students beyond the gradebook
By Heer Patel | 3 days agoThe University must rethink its approach to education beyond traditional major-specific requirements and mandate personal development courses.
EDITORIAL: Commercialization threatens U.Va.’s educational mission
By Editorial Board | 4 days agoAfter all, measuring the University’s worth in terms of accrued capital, operational efficiency and numerical rankings molds this space into just another cookie-cutter institution.
YOUNIS: Why every U.Va. student should say yes to English
By Ayat Younis | January 9, 2025Every student at the University, regardless of their primary field of study, can professionally and academically benefit from engaging with the English department.
