Planned Parenthood Advocate

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. One in three teens will experience an abusive relationship and two thirds of them will never report it. The “Love is Respect” campaign is the ultimate resource on healthy relationships for teens and young adults. The campaign is a partnership between Break the Cycle, the leading national non-profit addressing teen dating violence and the National Dating Abuse Helpline. The helpline can be reached many ways- live chat is available, or you can text “loveis” to 77054 or call 1-866-331-9474 (1-866-331-8453 TTY).

Intimate partner violence and reproductive health are closely linked and should be addressed together. Many people who experience intimate partner violence also experience reproductive and sexual coercion. Planned Parenthood works to reduce these rates through education, training, screening, and advocacy.

National Condom Week and Valentine's Day at Rochester Community and Technical College

RCTC students were feeling the love when Planned Parenthood’s Rochester Teen Council stopped by to
celebrate Valentine’s Day and National Condom Day. Over one hundred students stopped by to grab condom roses, candy, and information about no-cost birth control available at Planned Parenthood’s clinics across the state to those who qualify. Teen council members helped inspire students to make some rocking valentines- from sparkling pink zebra print to classic red hearts- and learned a few new crafts themselves. Students also donated generously to Mission 21, an organization to help victims of human trafficking. Thanks to everyone who stopped by; we’ll see you next year!

If you can’t wait that long, don’t worry, you don’t have to! Rochester Teen Council will be back at RCTC in April for Get Yourself Tested month. Keep your eyes peeled for details, which are coming soon.

-Julia, Partnership Development Associate, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota

Annual Planned Parenthood Solidarity Event - Good Friday 3/29

Will you join hundreds of Planned Parenthood supporters at our Vandalia St. & University Ave. health center in Saint Paul on Friday, March 29 as we rally for women's reproductive health care? Shifts are available between 9am and 4pm!  

>R.S.V.P. today!

The event is free and open to any supporter of healthy families and women's rights. We'll provide the signs, you just show up with friends ready to stand up for Planned Parenthood.

Why Good Friday? Why the need for solidarity? Every year on this day, hundreds of anti-women's health protesters gather outside our health center to intimidate our patients and attempt to disrupt our work. It presents an opportunity for supporters of Planned Parenthood to come together and celebrate what makes the organization, its volunteers and its activists so great and so necessary!

They'll be opportunities to Pledge a Protestor, buy t-shirts, sign up for action and volunteer opportunities, and much more. Please R.S.V.P. today to stand with Planned Parenthood on Good Friday and we'll see you on March 29!

>R.S.V.P. Here!

Senator Franken - A tireless advocate for women's rights

Senator Franken made Minnesotans proud this week as he urged his colleagues to support the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) to help protect women who are victims of sexual and domestic violence. See what Senator Franken had to say to President Obama, his colleagues and, most importantly, to the women of our country.

 

The bill includes Sen. Franken's Housing Rights for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence Act that would make it unlawful to evict a woman from federally-supported housing just because she is a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Also included is his Survivors of Sexual Assault Act which ensures that survivors of sexual assault are never forced to pay for their own rape kits.

"Last spring, just before the Senate passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, I came to the floor to share some words from my late, dear friend Sheila Wellstone, whose commitment to ending domestic violence is an everlasting source of inspiration to my wife Franni and to me. We passed the VAWA Reauthorization Act in the Senate last April. But the House did not let it go to the President for signature and enactment. So we're back here today - voting on the bill again - because those of us who believe in VAWA will continue to fight for the bill's passage until it is signed into law. I encourage my colleagues - both in the Senate and in the House - to come together to work toward ending the violence - to support this bill."

For more information on Sen. Franken, visit his website.

Happy Valentine's Day! It's National Condom Week!

This February, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota invites you to be your own
Valentine. Love your body by taking good care of it!

Every year, National Condom Week takes place the week of Valentine’s Day. National Condom Week reminds us to always practice safer sex. Did you know, when used perfectly, the male condom is 98% effective, but the way most people use them makes them 82% effective? Make sure you use them properly every time!

Young people ages 15 – 24 account for half of all new STIs, and over the past decade Chlamydia rates have risen nearly 90% in Minnesota. Because many patients will not experience any symptoms from a STI, screenings are an important facet of safer sex practices. Planned Parenthood’s highly trained staff are experts in sexual health. Over 63,000 patients a year visit this region’s local Planned Parenthood for confidential, non-judgmental services such as STI screening, pregnancy testing and birth control supplies, including condoms.

Planned Parenthood’s 4NOW program provides condoms, STI screenings, birth control and more at no cost to eligible women seeking birth control services in Minnesota. Planned Parenthood accepts most forms of private insurance, and has payment options to meet everyone’s needs!

Planned Parenthood wishes you a healthy, happy Valentine’s Day!

 

-Kelly, Web Correspondent, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota