I spent 25 years growing up in Sussex County, and as a former resident and a current board member of Planned Parenthood of Delaware (PPDE), I am so excited that we have a new clinic in Seaford to serve the greater community.
Because of our country’s polarized political climate and so much focus on abortion with the Supreme Court cases, some people think that Planned Parenthood is only about abortion. It is not. Abortion makes up less than 4% of services.
In fact, some would say we are best known for helping people get pregnant when they want and avoiding pregnancy when they prefer to wait, which can actually reduce the number of abortions.
Planned Parenthood of Delaware offers a wide array of services for people of all genders and is proud to care for all in need. Services include:
Although I’m emphasizing the many services that are not abortion, I am also not ashamed of this care. The ability to decide when (or if) to get pregnant is an essential right that’s lacking for far too many. And having been raised in Sussex County, I know how important it is to not be told what to do but to allow one to decide what is best for them to do and then offer support.
Abortion will happen whether you like it or not and whether it’s legal or outlawed. As a pro-choice advocate, I recognize and respect an individual’s choice either way as their choice and believe they should not have me or someone else or politicians tell them what they should do. Those that struggle spiritually with abortion and want to reduce it can consider support of comprehensive, science-based sex education, as well as policies that make contraception readily available.
Enabling people to become pregnant only when they are ready to have children goes a long way toward helping them secure a successful, stable future and makes it more likely that children will grow up in healthy environments and reach their dreams. This is one of the most immediate ways PPDE can help the area.
Sussex County had the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Delaware in 2018, and research shows access to birth control is vital in preventing unplanned pregnancies. PPDE was a key participant in the 2014 launch of the Delaware Contraceptive Access Now (DCAN) program in partnership with Upstream, slashing the state’s high unintended-pregnancy rate by nearly 20%. Not only is that decrease more than twice the nationwide average, the drop among recipients of Title X family-planning funding was a whopping 24% — eight times the average for all states. That was a tremendous success story for all involved that we need to keep going.
Sussex County has experienced significant, large year-round population growth in the last decade, and accessible health care continues to grow in importance. The U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration already considers Sussex County to be a primary-care desert, where one’s wait to see a primary-care physician may be a full four weeks. This clinic will help provide some of the missing medical needs, not only in Sussex, but also on the larger Delmarva Peninsula, which suffers from the same shortage of medical providers.
At PPDE, patients are our friends and neighbors. They are valued as individuals and treated in a compassionate and nonjudgmental fashion. Many of them have few — if any — other outlets for affordable health care, and no one at PPDE is turned away because of an inability to pay.
At PPDE, the doors are open to all. Not only am I a supporter and board member, I am also a patient. I am fortunate to have health insurance, and I choose to get some of my health care at PPDE. And as I approach my 60th birthday, I can’t wait to check out the Seaford clinic for my next visit.
Karen Hudson is a board member for Planned Parenthood of Delaware.
