Book Reading 2016

I’m 16 and I’m pregnant. My mother doesn’t believe in abortion. What do I do?

Someone asked us:

I’m 16 and pregnant. I hate to say it but I wasn’t smart when it came to protection. The problem is, my mom doesn’t believe in abortion. What are my options. I’m so scared that I’m going to be forced to have a baby I’m not ready for. I’m 16. I don’t even have a drivers license yet. How am I suppose to raise a baby. My mom is very unsupportive. How am I going to do this?! What are my options. If I do have to have this baby what can I do?? I’m so scared. I feel like my life is falling apart.

I know that’s hard to believe right now, but you’ll get through this. You’re in a tough situation — no doubt about it. But you’re already reaching out for help. That’s a great first step, and we’re here to help you.

When you’re in a situation that feels overwhelming it helps to take things one step at a time. It sounds like the first thing you need to do is talk with someone in person about your options. You seem pretty sure that your mother doesn’t believe in abortion and wouldn’t support you if you wanted to have one. I can’t tell from your message what exactly you want to do — if you want to keep the pregnancy and become a parent, have an abortion, or give the baby for adoption — but if talking with your mother won’t be helpful, talking with the staff at your nearest Planned Parenthood health center will be. First they can talk through your options with you, and then get you started on the right option for you depending on what you decide (prenatal care or abortion).

If you want to have an abortion, you may not need your mother’s permission. That depends somewhat on where you live. Some states don’t require permission from your parents at all. Other states do. But even most of those states have a way for you to have an abortion without a parent or guardian. That process is called judicial bypass: It’s when a judge says it’s okay for you to get an abortion without involving your parents in your decision.

It may sound scary, but the staff at your nearest Planned Parenthood health center can help with that process. So call them and make an appointment.

Once you’ve made your appointment, your second step is to find a way to get there. You said that you don’t have a driver’s license. For that and other practical reasons, you may need to let someone in your life that you trust know what’s going on, someone who can give you a ride. Otherwise, can you walk or take public transportation? Can you take a taxi? The health center staff you speak with on the phone may have some suggestions or directions for getting there.

The rest of the steps you need to take are going to depend on what you decide to do. But remember, the staff at your nearest Planned Parenthood health center will help you every step of the way.

Last piece of advice: don’t delay! If you’re pregnant, regardless of whether you’re going to have an abortion or stay pregnant, it’s important to get started on that path ASAP, to make sure you stay healthy. You can do this!

-Emily at Planned Parenthood

White House Science Fair Days Are The Best Days

And today, President Barack Obama hosted his last. More here.



Mercury is officially “out” of retrograde! Know what that means? That the planet doesn’t appear to move backward in the sky due to our motion relative to the “backdrop” of space, because that’s what retrograde notion is – an optical illusion.

So, observers from our past who knew nothing of celestial mechanics and orbital motion (let alone that we are among billions of other solar systems in the universe) perceived Mercury’s odd “movement” as some kind of foreboding communication from the cosmic beyond which indicated a disturbance of reality, rather than consulting (and trusting) an actual astronomer on this “phenomena”.

Still blaming Mercury retrograde for your problems? Congratulations, you’ve managed to remain ignorant after nearly 500 years of scientific progress.

“Astrology is bunk, it’s fraud.” – Carl Sagan

This diagram shows our cosmic address at a glance. We see our planetary system around the Sun, our stellar neighborhood in our galaxy, our galaxy in the local group of galaxies, and our group in the entire universe.

Learn much more in the Cullman Hall of the Universe. 

“I’ve sat on panels with scholars, and I’m just a kid from the hood with a camera.”

Find out how Baltimore photographer Devin Allen went from aspiring photographer documenting his city’s protests on Instagram to landing the TIME Magazine cover and continuing to make a difference by Andres Tardio. 

This is a ghostly web-footed gecko, they can be found and perfectly camouflage among the powdery reddish sands of the Namib Desert, their primary habitat.These geckos have adapted their webbed feet not only to help them stay atop, but to bury beneath the dunes of the Namib Desert. Strictly nocturnal lizards, they spend the day in self-dug burrows and emerge at night to feed.

Their bloodshot-looking eyes are massively oversized to help them detect prey, which includes crickets, grasshoppers, and small spiders. They move surprisingly quickly across the sand, and adhesive pads on their toes make them excellent climbers.

People sometimes hunt these tiny lizards for food, and human encroachment is destroying some of its habitat. Their estimated lifespan in the wild is about five years.

Watch Powerful Music Video By Jamila Woods “Blk Girl Soldier”

Tuesday, June 7, artist from Chicago Jamila Woods released a music video for her new single “Blk Girl Soldier”, in which she highlights the pain and injustice that Black women everywhere have had to deal with for centuries. Woods’ debut album is due out at the end of this month.

Full video

#BlkGirlSoldier   #BlackLivesMatter

To those who celebrate it, Happy Independence Day! Enjoy the parabolic envelopes that form while those bright, sparkling, parabolic curves are etched into the sky tonight…

This Incredible New Project Is Explaining LGBT Themes To Preschool Kids

While the episodes may focus on explaining a central concept — like what does “gay” mean — “Queer Kids Stuff” also answers questions for children that some adults may not have the ability or language to talk about.

How do you get STDs?

Someone asked us:

I’m kind of confused about STDs. How can you get them? Also, what happens if you have sex when you’re on your period?

STDs are passed from one person to another during sexual contact. So STDs don’t appear out of nowhere, someone has to give it to you (just like the common cold or the flu). Some STDs are caused by bacteria, so they can be cured with antibiotics (like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis).

Other STDs are caused by a virus, so they may clear up on their own, or they live in your body for life (like herpes, HIV, HPV, and hepatitis). No matter what kind of STD it is, you get them from someone else by having sex — oral sex, anal sex, vaginal sex, or genital skin-to-skin contact. Every STD is a little different, so some are most likely to be passed by vaginal sex (like HIV), and others can easily be passed by skin-to-skin contact (like herpes).

You can help prevent getting STDs by having safer sex. This means using condoms or Sheer Glyde dental dams (a latex sheet that covers your vulva or anus during oral sex) every time you have sex. But safer sex is just that - safer. It’s not 100%. So if you’re having any kind of sex, talk with a doctor or nurse about getting tested for STDs. You can get tested at your nearest Planned Parenthood health center.

To answer your second question, there’s nothing wrong with having sex on your period. In fact, it is perfectly normal to have sex on your period as long as both you and your partner are comfortable with it. (It’s also totally okay if you want to skip period sex.) But you can still pass STDs and get pregnant during your period, so use condoms along with another form of birth control every single time you have sex.  

-Taylor at Planned Parenthood