The noise from the protesters distracts the college students as they study for their mid-terms. Planned Parenthood sits right next door to the study center and is regularly targeted by people waving signs at passing traffic and encouraging drivers to honk as a show of their support. The protesters are mostly young women who get excited and jump around when they get a thumbs up from one of the drivers. What they don't realize is, they are causing the very thing they are protesting against.

In recent years political campaigns have been run on single, volatile issues rather than overall performance. One of the BIG issues is always abortion. The people who support these politicians describe themselves as 'pro-life.' They like to say Republicans are more godly people because they are against abortion and Democrats are pagans because they insist abortion is a personal, if difficult, choice and must be kept available to women.

I'm sure there are many well meaning people on the 'Red' side, but actual numbers show there are also many hypocrites as well. Some of those who publicly try to deny a woman her rights will make use of those same rights in their private lives.

The cold fact is that all but one of the ten states with the lowest abortion rates are considered to be liberal or 'Blue' states. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Minnesota all voted Democratic, and only North Dakota is considered conservative.

Of the sixteen states with the highest rate of abortions, all but one are conservative or 'Red' states: Texas, Alaska, Mississippi, Kentucky, Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, Idaho, Alabama, Indiana, Wyoming, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Nevada. Washington is the lone liberal state. These facts were gleaned from the Center for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics and Election Results from CNN.]

What's going on here? Could it be that the states with the lowest abortion rates also have the best birth control resources? Do you think they may be teaching sex education in the schools? Maybe groups like Planned Parenthood are available to disperse information the Red States do not make available to their residents

It has been proven that abstinence does not work. That's nothing new. Even the Puritans 'had' to get married. What is new is the knowledge and ability to prevent unplanned pregnancies.

Anyone who is truly concerned about stopping abortion should consider supporting agencies that provide birth control and sex education to anyone asking for it. Remember: The best way to prevent an abortion is to prevent a pregnancy. Support Planned Parenthood.

Learn more about this author, Maren Sage.
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