Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Dear Friends of Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma

There’s been a lot in the media lately about Planned Parenthood.  Both on the national and on the state level, you may have heard about initiatives attempting to defund Planned Parenthood.

Let me tell you some things you probably haven’t heard on the news.  For more than 90 years—74 here in central Oklahoma—building healthy communities has been our mission.  Our services include life-saving cancer screenings, birth control, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, breast health care, Pap tests, sexual health information and education, advocacy for rational public policies, and more. 

Every day, we help our patients get the tools they need—in a caring and compassionate way—to help them stay healthy and plan for families when they are ready.  We work every day to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in Oklahoma and across the country.  Every day we supply women and men the most sophisticated instrument in medicine—accurate information—helping them make important decisions about their health.

We’re dedicated to protecting reproductive health and safety, as well as defending a woman’s reproductive freedom.  And every day we fight for health care funding and access for all.

At Planned Parenthood we treat health care as a basic human right, dispensed confidentially and without judgment—regardless of race, gender, class or age.  Right now, in your community, someone you know will turn to us for birth control, or a breast exam, an STD test, or because they want help talking with their teens about sexuality.  And we’ll be there for them. 

We are there for the one in five women who turn to us at some time in their lives for professional, nonjudgmental and confidential care.  We’re there for those moms and dads who might be uncertain about how to talk with their children about sex.  We’re there to protect teens and encourage them to talk with their parents.  We replace fear with facts, and misinformation with accurate, nonjudgmental information and health education. 

Our clients know they can come see us when they are healthy—just for a check-up.  They are welcome to come see us when they are curious, or scared, or want accurate information.  They can come see us when they are afraid or embarrassed or don’t know where in the world to turn for help.

We’re here, with an open mind, a caring touch and extraordinarily sophisticated tools and expertise.  They know they can rely on Planned Parenthood.

You have made it possible for us to be here for our clients.  Our work continues thanks to you, your support to Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma through good times and bad, in a political environment often deeply inimical to our mission. 

Supporting PPCO will never be more important than it is now.  Stand with us to protect, promote and provide reproductive health choices.

Please make a tax-deductible contribution to Planned Parenthood Central Oklahoma today, your support will help us make a difference for tens of thousands of Oklahoma women, men, teens and families.  Thank you!