2006-04-24 ~ 3:25 p.m.

Soap Box

Last week I filled out a survey for Planned Parenthood. And don't get smart assy and say dumb shit like, "will I have an abortion... yes... no... maybe."

Anyway, in the survey, I said that I would volunteer by spreading the word of choice through my blog, and now the bitches are holding me to it. (And I mean "bitches" in a positive way.)

Anyway, here's the story that they want me to pass on to you today. It's actually kind of surprising.

***********

An Indiana mother recently accompanied her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend to one of Indiana's Planned Parenthood clinics, but they unwittingly walked into a so-called "crisis pregnancy center" run by an anti-abortion group, one that shared a parking lot with the real Planned Parenthood clinic and was designed expressly to lure Planned Parenthood patients and deceive them.

The group took down the girl's confidential personal information and told her to come back for her appointment, which they said would be in their "other office" (the real Planned Parenthood office nearby). When she arrived for her appointment, not only did the Planned Parenthood staff have no record of her, but the police were there. The "crisis pregnancy center" had called them, claiming that a minor was being forced to have an abortion against her will.

The "crisis pregnancy center" staff then proceeded to wage a campaign of intimidation and harassment over the following days, showing up at the girl's home and calling her father's workplace. Planned Parenthood's clinic director reports that the girl was "scared to death to leave her house." They even went to her school and urged classmates to pressure her not to have an abortion.

The anti-choice movement is setting up these "crisis pregnancy centers" across the country. Some of them have neutral-sounding names and run ads that falsely promise the full range of reproductive health services, but they dispense anti-choice propaganda and intimidation instead. And according to a recent article in The New York Times, there are currently more of these centers in the U.S. than there are actual abortion providers. What's more, these centers have received $60 million in government grants. They're being funded by our tax dollars.

A bill has just been introduced in Congress to stop the fraudulent practices of fake clinics, but it desperately needs more support. Tell your representative to take a stand: anti-choice extremists must not get away with this any longer!

Go to: http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/fake

******************

And if you go to the above address, they make it really simple to take a stand. You just have to fill out your name and address and the Planned Parenthood website will send a letter/e-mail to the government official of your state to voice your reproductive concerns, (today H.R. 5052 the Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney.)

Personally, joining the Planned Parenthood website so that they may send me notifications of what's going on and already have a pre-written letter that all I have to do to send it to my representative is click a button, it's the least I can do, and I believe it's worth it.

Also, sometimes the representatives send back a letter saying "yes, I agree and am fighting for this measure" or "well, we've been trying to find a middle ground...blah blah blah whatever I'm saying basically means that I'm shitting all over your ovaries.".. and, ya know, that really helps my voting decisions in upcoming elections.

And, men, you should do this as well. These are your children that you're paying child support for. (ok, that was rude and I'm sorry.. but it was really funny to me when I typed it out.) But seriously, when the government takes our women's rights away- even if they are rights we're not even going to bother to use-we get angry. And you wouldn't like us when we're angry.

Unless you're a pro-lifer, then, ya know, that's your choice.

{ previous ~ next }