Had Unprotected Sex? Planned Parenthood Will Pay You $70...And You Could Win $500!

   Although Planned Parenthood's most recent controversy revolves around "fetal tissue" trafficking, the organization is no stranger to eyebrow-raising activities. A recent solicitation for participants for Planned Parenthood's Sexual Health Evaluation (SHE) study promised at least $70 with a chance to win up to $500. Interested parties who had had unprotected sex were encouraged to visit the website to "get the deal on what the study is all about, the gift cards you'll earn, and how you can win additional big prizes — then sign up and get started!"
     Although enrollment for the study is now over (2,317 participants signed up), Planned Parenthood used the following page to invite site visitors to learn more about the study:

    Clicking through to learn more presented potential participants with a video explaining the study and the various incentives, including cash prizes and gift cards for retailers such as Apple, Starbucks, Target and H&M.

     The entire video can be seen here:

     The study, as the acronym SHE indicates, is targeted at women. Although the solicitation refers to "unprotected sex", the scope of the study covers all of Planned Parenthood's online resources and seeks to learn through four 10-minute surveys over three months how women use those resources:

     Planned Parenthood assures participants that the organization will keep "personal health information... 100% private", promising to "do everything we can to keep others from learning about your participation in this study" through the use of identifying code numbers.

     The study is a joint project of Planned Parenthood and New York University Silver School of Social Work. Two drawings were planned for the contest portion of the study, one in the Spring/Summer of 2015 and the second for Fall/Winter 2015.

Note: A version of this post first appeared at The Weekly Standard.