The following was posted by Planned Parenthood in late March.
Every year Planned Parenthood brings a group of teens, staff and activists to the Capitol to meet with legislators and discuss current issues affecting reproductive health care. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend a health education fair and workshops on creating change and taking action. This fun and educational event gives teens an up-close view of how we can all make a difference when we stand up for what we believe in!
This year’s Capitol Day takes place on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 in Sacramento, California. San Diego, Riverside and Imperial County teens between the ages of 13 and 19 are encouraged to apply by filling out an application when they become available on February 4, 2013.
Teen Capitol Day is a great opportunity for teens to learn more about their state government. Planned Parenthood provides travel scholarships for all teens selected. All participants must also attend a local Lobbying Training before the event and a local Debriefing Dinner after the event. Participants will also be required to write a one-page reflective essay about their experience.
1. What exactly will we be doing at this event?
Capitol Day consists of:
- Lobbying (meeting as a group with elected officials to express our views on bills and issues that we want them to take action on. Don’t worry. We’ll train you.)
- An educational fair, a rally, and workshops on various topics.
2. How will I get to and from Sacramento?
All students selected for Teen Capitol Day will be given a choice to fly out of San Diego or Ontario based on which airport is closest to them. Transportation to and from the airport will be the responsibility of each student. Students will be supervised by Planned Parenthood staff at all times and will return to their respective airports by 7pm. For a full list of flight information contact Luis Montero at 619-881-4520 or lmontero@planned.org.
3. Do I have to do anything before or after Capitol Day?
Yes! Teen Capitol Day itself is just one day, but you have to attend a training prior to the event. Afterward, you have to write a one-page reflective essay about your experience, and attend our debriefing dinner where we’ll share our experiences. These are all mandatory parts of the program, and you must be able to attend the training and debrief and write the essay to qualify as a participant.
4. What kind of issues will we be lobbying on?
This is a pro-choice lobby day, and the issues we’ll be discussing will involve reproductive health and education. We won’t know exactly what the issues are until closer to the day because it depends on what’s going on legislatively that we might support or oppose. Examples of issues we’ve addressed in the past include increasing access to birth control and emergency contraception, providing comprehensive sexuality education in schools, as well as increasing access to abortion care. We’ll go over this year’s issues at the training.
5. What if I’ve never done anything like this before, or I’m not an expert on political stuff or these kind of issues, or I don’t know if I’d be comfortable talking to elected officials?
Don’t worry about it! One of the reasons for doing something like this is to learn something new! We’ll train you beforehand about general political stuff and about the specific issues we’ll be dealing with that day. Plus, you’ll be with a group for all lobbying meetings, and there will always be someone in your group who has done this before.
6. What if I don’t live in San Diego, Riverside, or Imperial County?
Visit https://www.ppactionca.org/ for contact information for your local Planned Parenthood. Contact them about the possibility of attending Capitol Day with their group!
7. What if I’m not a teen?
This program is for teenagers in San Diego, Riverside, and Imperial counties teenagers. If you’re not a teen but you want to take action to support reproductive health and education, we have plenty of ways you can get involved! Check out our college activism program (VOX), our neighborhood outreach program, more volunteer opportunities, or sign up now for our campaign rapid response team, and we’ll stay in touch with you about ways you can take action throughout the year!
8. Who can I contact with more questions?
Contact Luis Montero at 619-881-4520 or lmontero@planned.org
To read original posting, click here.
Okay? this article can be confusing because it can come off as if we were advertising this and getting the word out…. or it can expose what they are doing but the way this article was placed it can either work against us or with us. Not sure…..also I know that they do this because there was one year when High Tech High actually send an email out asking if any teen wanted to participate.
To us this disgusting but to the liberals this is exciting and for a good cause…so this article may actually be helping them.
OK, GREAT, let’s have a giant “reproductive health care” party in Sacramento to get even MORE teenyboppers totally confused about what the murder mob, Planned Parenthood, REALLY does in their endeavors to “educate” the great unwashed teen flash mob bunch as to “choice.” But let’s make sure the teens are UNCHURCHED and TOTALLY SECULARIZED so that the efforts to “educate” in “choice” remains what we want it to be: “CHOICE”equates with “DEATH” of a vexing problem, not DEATH OF AN UNREPEATABLE HUMAN BABY (which we know is what it REALLY is) And so WHY do the American people continue in their sheeple ways to do NOTHING to DEFUND this murderous behemoth, P.P., despite their well-polled growing revulsion to Roe V Wade and legalized abortion murder? Isn’t around $500,000,000 in public money more than reason enough to say “ENOUGH?” For that’s the amount P.P. received in 2012 in U.S. tax money. It’s very disheartening, to say the least. OMARY MOST IMMACULATE, PLEASE DELIVER THIS NATION FROM SATANIC EVIL. God Bless All, Markrite
And what has the Bishop’s California Catholic Conference organized for young people in Sacramento? – Food stamps, Life without parole, and the Dream Act !
Whatever happened to the NON-NEGOTIABLES of :
Abortion, Euthanasia, Embryonic stem cell research, same-sex marriage, cloning, and freedom of Religion?
One must actively promote (whether there is proposed legislation or not) the things of most importance. Legislators must be constantly reminded what is most important to CA constituents.
We teach our youth by encouraging their involvement in specific areas.
The Bishop’s Conference is merely teaching our young their personal political view of “Social Justice” – without “Subsidiarity”, – without “Commutative Justice”; – without “Solidarity”: – – all of which are part of the Church’s teaching in the CCC and must be taken in entirety.
Using our Youth to promote only their own political views is an abomination.
Why is it that everyone seems to forget that 13 years of age is below the age of consent? Doesn’t it seem strange to be providing sex training to 13 year old girls when sex with them is a crime in California? I’ve seen some of the young girls who attend these Lobby Day events. It is so sad and pathetic; you just know that their lives are going to be filled with pain and despair.
Yes indeed, Planned Parenthood is a satanic organization. I wonder if anyone from the institutional Catholic Church plans to confront this evil at the Capitol? No, I doubt it. I know who will there, however. Every fawning Democrat legislator will be out in force praising the effort made by Planned Parenthood to achieve “reproductive freedom”. Every year it’s the same mantra.
Planned Parenthood’s favorite legislators are the women, and Hispanic legislators. It helps Planned Parenthood especially show their poor victims how Hispanic legislators are helping girls – helping them to kill their offspring and to lower the birthrate of browns and blacks even more than it is now. What a tragedy!
There is supposed to be an intensity gap between the young people who support “abortion rights” and the young people who are pro life. Polls are supposed to be showing that the youngsters who are pro life are more committed (intensely motivated) than the the pro choicers. You would hardly think it from reading this article. I think the polls are right but for some reason pro lifers in California seem to set little importance on lobbying and making a strong presence around the State Capital.
The result is the pro abortionists have almost free rein with the politicians. The Catholic Church is of no help since it’s number one priority seems to be to avoid saying or doing anything that would disgruntle the legislators. In fact right now the Church is going out of its way (and diminishing its credibility) to placate the most radically pro culture of death legislators.