Planned Parenthood's New App Tracks Sexual Activity
Planned Parenthood of The Great Northwest (PPGNW) just launched a mobile app where users can log in and register the location they practiced safe sex.
As part of National Condom Week last week, PPGNW distributed 55,000 condoms to community colleges and universities and to all its health centers throughout western Washington.
The condoms include a QR code – a barcode that can be scanned by smart phones and connects users to a mobile website. Similar to other geo-location services like Foursquare or Facebook Places, the site allows someone to anonymously "check in" their safe sex activity.
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The mobile check-ins show up on a map and in the past week check-ins have come in from 48 out of 50 states and from six continents.
Jim Sedlak, vice president of the American Life League, told Life Site News, that this isn't really about safe sex though.
"Planned Parenthood's business model is aimed at making money from people who are engaged in sexual activity. Those are the women who will have abortions, which made up 51 percent of Planned Parenthood's clinic revenue in 2010," he said.
But Planned Parenthood contends that "Where Did You Wear It" targets college students and millennials, already comfortable with social media, and is just meant to promote healthy sexuality and is encouraging people to be "proud to wear protection."
The site offers information on how to use a condom correctly, a list of nearby Planned Parenthood health centers where condoms are available, and links to the condom page on plannedparenthood.org
Nathan Engebretson, new media coordinator for Planned Parenthood, said in a statement: "We hope the site promotes discussions within relationships about condoms and helps to remove perceived stigmas that some people may have about condom use. 'Where Did You Wear It' attempts to create some fun around making responsible decisions."
But Eric Odom, director of Interactive Media for Liberty News Network, writes on its website, "Planned Parenthood never ceases to amaze America with its infamous ability to throw tons of money at various inappropriate campaigns aimed at making sex 'fun and safe' for teens."
He said that this latest project joins Planned Parenthood's "inappropriate arsenal of web tools" and is being funded by taxpayers.
In a short video on LibertyNews.com, Odom looks at the different features on the site. He said that the site was designed for mobile devices, and it's basically asking people to check in and describe the location where the protected sex took place.
If you scroll down there is a map which shows all the "hot spots" where the sex occurred. If condom users wish to check in on the site, there is a list of questions including: Location, Gender (guy, girl, tran), Partner, Age, Relationship, and Location.
It also asks users to list why they decided to wear a condom, and then asks them to describe how the "safe sex" was from a menu including: "Ah-may-zing- Rainbows exploded and mountains trembled, Great-can't wait for round 2, Pretty Good, Fair, Things Can Only Improve from Here."
The website does include a disclaimer that states, "Sex happens. More importantly, safe sex happens! Of course, abstinence from sexual activity is the only sure way to prevent both pregnancy and the spread of STDs. But remember: Sex happens. We're not encouraging you to have sex or not have sex."
