Planned Parenthood | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I just read that Utah Eagle Forum staged a prayer protest against Planned Parenthood ("Protest targets Planned Parenthood," Tribune, Feb. 15). Instead of protesting against Planned Parenthood, the Eagle Forum's Gayle Ruzicka should thank it for all the testing for sexually transmitted diseases that it provides. Utah has one of the higher rates of STDs, and HIV is on the rise.

The Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives want to strip funding for this nonprofit organization. Where will people go for testing? Planned Parenthood performed services for 43,460 clients.

The fewer than 50 abortions it performed followed state controls.

Planned Parenthood has the best sex education classes in the state. There you can learn how not to get an STD and fill in the knowledge gaps created by Utah's school sex education.

Joan Ishimatsu

West Valley City