Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization that provides reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Inc. (PPAF) is a related organization which lobbies for pro-choice legislation, comprehensive sex education, and access to affordable health care in the United States. In recent years, Planned Parenthood has begun to move away from the pro-choice label to words and phrases that more accurately reflect the entire range of women's health and economic issues.

Planned Parenthood is the largest U.S. provider of reproductive health services, including cancer screening, HIV screening and counseling, contraception, and abortion. Contraception accounts for 34% of PPFA's total services and abortions account for 3%. PPFA conducts roughly 300,000 abortions annually, among the 3 million people the organization serves.

The organization has its roots in Brooklyn, New York, where Margaret Sanger opened the first birth-control clinic in the U.S., and founded the American Birth Control League in 1921, which in 1942 became part of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Since then, Planned Parenthood has grown to have approximately 700 clinic locations in the U.S., with a total budget of US $1 billion. PPFA provides an array of services to over three million people in the United States, and supports services for over one million clients outside the United States.

History
The origins of Planned Parenthood date to October 16, 1916, when Margaret Sanger, her sister Ethel Byrne, and Fania Mindell opened the first birth control clinic in the U.S. in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York.[11] All three women were immediately arrested and jailed for violating provisions of the Comstock Act, accused of distributing "obscene materials" at the clinic. The "Brownsville trials" brought national attention and support to their cause, and although Sanger and her co-defendants were convicted, their convictions were eventually overturned. Their campaign led to major changes in the laws governing birth control and sex education in the United States.

In 1938, the clinic was organized into the American Birth Control League, which became part of the only national birth control organization in the US until the 1960's, but the title was found too offensive and "against families" so the League began discussions for a new name.[13] By 1941, the organization was operating 222 centers and had served 49,000 clients. By 1942 the League had become part of what became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

By 1960, the Federation's grassroots volunteers had provided family planning counseling in hundreds of communities across the country.[14] Planned Parenthood was one of the founding members of the International Planned Parenthood Federation when it was launched at a conference in Bombay, India in 1952.[14][15]

Following Margaret Sanger, Alan Frank Guttmacher became president of Planned Parenthood, and served from 1962 until 1974.[16] During his tenure, the Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of the original birth control pill, giving rise to new attitudes towards women's reproductive freedom.[14] Also during his presidency, Planned Parenthood lobbied the federal government to support reproductive health, culminating with President Richard Nixon's signing of Title X to provide governmental subsidies for low-income women to access family planning services.[17] The Center for Family Planning Program Development was also founded as a semi-autonomous division during this time.[18] The center became an independent organization and was renamed the Guttmacher Institute in 1977.

Faye Wattleton was the first woman named president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1978, and served until 1992.[19] She was the first African-American to serve as president, and the youngest president in Planned Parenthood's history.[20] During her term, Planned Parenthood grew to become the seventh largest charity in the country, providing services to four million clients each year through its 170 affiliates, whose activities were spread across 50 states.

From 1996 to 2006, Planned Parenthood was led by Gloria Feldt. Feldt activated the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the organization's political action committee, launching what was the most far reaching electoral advocacy effort in its history.[24] She also launched the Responsible Choices Action Agenda, a nationwide campaign to increase services to prevent unwanted pregnancies, improve quality of reproductive care and ensure access to safe and legal abortions.[14] Another initiative was the commencement of a "Global Partnership Program", with the aim of building a vibrant activist constituency in support of family planning.[14]

On February 15, 2006, Cecile Richards became president of the organization. On July 26, 2015, activist hackers attacked its servers, threatening to leak the personal data of its staff. Motivated by anti-abortion sentiment, the reported breach came as the organization defended itself from videos from an anti-abortion group that show Planned Parenthood officials negotiating the sale of fetal tissue. By July 29, the Planned Parenthood website was still offline following the apparent hack.