Differences over abortion debate doesn't justify theft of banners and supplies
The same weekend that the pink Planned Parenthood bus was in town, our 40 Days for Life banners and box of supplies/literature were stolen. We are asking whoever took our items to please return them. The items included not only our sidewalk counseling literature, but homemade baby blankets, pregnancy help center information, ultrasound information, adoption information, and even post-abortion support information. Things that are not really valuable on the black market or in a pawn shop, but can be of great value to a woman in a crisis pregnancy situation.
40 Days for Life is a peaceful, prayerful vigil that we hold twice a year, to pray for, and to offer "choices" to, the men and women who are found in crisis pregnancy situations. We are here to help both mother and child, during and after the pregnancy. Unlike Planned Parenthood, which mainly offers these people one choice, abortion, we would like them to know that there are other alternatives.
Granted Planned Parenthood does offer minimal prenatal care, but only because it gets $60,000 in funding from the county for this (a mere 0.5% of their annual budget of $11 million). Nationwide Planned Parenthood does 47 abortions for every one prenatal care client and 340 abortions for every one adoption referral. Everything else offered by Planned Parenthood is "cosmetic" (including it's so-called "health care"), allowing the group to minimize the significance of its abortion business. You may disagree with us regarding the abortion issue, but everyone deserves to know all of their options or "choices" in a crisis pregnancy. Taking our banners and literature is not a very mature way to disagree. Please reconsider and return our items.
Kathy Dobrowolski Saline
Comments
Himandme
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 11:49 p.m.
To Edward R Murrow's want a be, and the rest of misinformed people, it is Planned Parent workers, volunteers, customers, & even their outside contractors, who are time and again doing the the harm to those of us who want to save lives. i can not tell you the #'s of time they had acted like they were going to run me & others, over, the foul mouth, the physical abuse, & yet still more. i guess if you think killing a unborn baby is right than anything else goes. If Planned Parenthood get any money to kill even one unborn child it is wrong & i wouldn't want that on my conscience and i wouldn't be defending them one bit.
Himandme
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 12:56 a.m.
Dear Ricebrnr, thank you for your concern, i don't stand in the street when they try to run me over, i am on the grass, sure i don't want to be abused but i can't stand to see a baby who should be loved by the parent or parents being ripped from limb to limb, or chemical burned or drowned to death, i do believe in God & my angel & other angel are protecting me. What i hate to see is sins and people thinking it is okay to hate, like they do.
Ricebrnr
Wed, Apr 27, 2011 : 4:46 p.m.
suggestion: If you don't want to be run over.. If you don't want to be "abused" physically or verbally... Don't stand in people or car's way and don't protest places where you have a history of "abuse" Just a thought.
NoSUVforMe
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 12:04 a.m.
The opinion expressed here is totally without attribution. This is not founded in anything but one person making up whatever argument they want to believe. While stealing signs and other other personal property are wrong, so is slander. I personally know the 40 Days for Life kills cats and smothers kittens just for the fun of it. How do I know? I just made it up.
Ricebrnr
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 1:40 a.m.
Kathy, Joe et al Please reacquaint yourselves with the definitions of "imply"', " irony", and "facts". To quote a fun movie, "you keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means."
talker
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 10:51 p.m.
It outrageous that Planned Parenthood is blamed just because a PP bus happened to be in town. I'm guessing there were other groups' buses in town at various times. These would include school buses carrying teens to softball and baseball games, etc.. It would have been just as ridiculous to accuse a group of 16 year olds as it was to accuse supporters of Planned Parenthood. Also, I don't consider Pap tests and mammograms cosmetic. They are serious medical tests that save the lives of living, breathing women. I realize that some people oppose birth control, a major service of Planned Parenthood, but in the real world it's birth control that holds down the number of abortions. Unfortunately, I think our Lieutenant Governor opposes some forms of birth control and that is the only reason I think we are in a bind deciding if it's okay to recall Governor Snyder. I want to add the comment that when people against choice spout the number of fetuses that haven't been brought to term, they don't subtract from that total the number of people who have been born later who wouldn't have been conceived and born otherwise. My mother had a miscarriage, aka spontaneous abortion, before I was born. I was conceived and born two years after her miscarriage. Please subtract the number of people like me, born BECAUSE there was a miscarriage or abortion previously.
a2citizen
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 10:46 p.m.
There may be no proof. But if you think PP showing up the same day the pro-life material is missing: you are extremely naive. Whatever your beliefs are.
Ricebrnr
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 1:16 a.m.
Bravo, touche!
a2citizen
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 12:48 a.m.
Nah, that's not comedy. That's a soap opera.
Ricebrnr
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 12:15 a.m.
Ah cheap comedy.. Like how a self important pissant local group would've attracted the attention of people coming in from all over the nation, such that some from that nationwide group would've felt compelled to punk that group by stealing their literature... HILARIOUS!
a2citizen
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 11:26 p.m.
Actually, I don't prefer anything. I just enjoy the cheap comedy.
Ricebrnr
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 11:16 p.m.
Or the simplest explanation is one of their own employees misplaced it... Of course if you prefer a convoluted conspiracy...
walker101
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 3:15 p.m.
Founder of Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the world, Margaret Sanger. Her goal in life: Sanger admitted her entire life's purpose was to promote birth control. On mandatory sterilization of the poor: One of Sanger's greatest influences, sexologist/eugenicist Dr. Havelock Ellis (with whom she had an affair, leading to her divorce from her first husband), urged mandatory sterilization of the poor as a prerequisite to receiving any public aid. I wonder if this is still their mission statement? I agree we should support women or men if medical needs are not met, but don't use my tax dollars to provide abortions.
Ricebrnr
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 7:28 p.m.
Well I do have a hammer, so everything is bound to look like a nail.... ;)
unrulyfan
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 5:22 p.m.
Walker101, You may want to do a little more reading of Margaret Sanger's works. The are plentiful and free using google books, but just for your edification and those perhaps of some of the other readers I will encapsulate her position. During her lifetime unions had not yet secured such basic freedoms such as an 8-hour workday, child labor laws, or workplace safety. Our system was still equivalent to the mercantile system of the 18th and 19th century, in the South we called it slavery, in the north we called it capitalism. Since the workforce in the North was plentiful and the interests of big business controlled the government, humans were seen as disposable due to the low in capital value they represented (unlike the slaves in the South which often represented the overwhelming capital investment in the production of crops). Ms. Sanger position was that, due to the deplorable living and working conditions at the turn of the century, families should have control over how many children they want to bring into such an environment. At that time, due to the restrictions imposed by the church and consequently by the government, the only birth control option was abortion or self induced miscarriages, both of which were dangerous at best. Her goal was to reduce the suffering of the families, including reducing the aforementioned birth control methods by increasing other, more effective and less intrusive options. In short, while Ms. Sanger may not have been opposed to abortion, she was opposed to it being the only option available to women.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 4:41 p.m.
Hammer and nail again, Ricebrnr Good Night and Good Luck
Ricebrnr
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 4:34 p.m.
And similarly Muslims and the like should be judged not on all the good that has happened due to their actions but by the actions of some? How about Catholics and all the child molestation scandals? How about the US and American Indians, Civil Rights? We should still bomb the Germans and the Japanese back to the stone age just because too, right? Margaret Sanger died nearly half a century ago, regardless of her personal issues from her time, TODAY and for some time now Planned Parenthood services mostly those same people, who would have little other recourse for health services otherwise and with relatively little government support. One of the few things I count as tax money well spent in my book, AND NONE of which go towards abortions, regardless of how you feel about it. And no, here's their current mission statement. <a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/vision-4837.htm" rel='nofollow'>http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/vision-4837.htm</a>
A2K
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 12:36 p.m.
"Peaceful 40-day protest"...right. This is where fanatical protesters block access to clinics, threaten the medical-care of patients, spread lies and misinformation, menace staff, and has produced more than a handful of murderers over the years...Every time I see an article from one of you folks that is full of lies/untruths I donate $50 to both Physicians for Choice and Planned Parenthood (boy have you folks been active lately...egads, I'll have to take a 2nd job!) p.s., I've had an abortion, it was the BEST decision I ever made outside of marrying my husband and getting a degree. Do I regret it? No. Am I "chronically depressed/suicidal/deranged/cancer-stricken"? NO, and neither are any of the 100's of women I've met who've had abortions as well.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 6:37 p.m.
"PP 2008 annual report as stated in my reply" Wrong. The 2008-9 Report, the most recent available on-line, lists "Health Center Income" as $404.9 million, NOT $305 million It provides no data whatsoever regarding number of or cost of abortion. None. NO data whatsoever. My numbers can be found on page 28 of: <a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/PPFA_Annual_Report_08-09-FINAL-12-10-10.pdf" rel='nofollow'>http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/PPFA_Annual_Report_08-09-FINAL-12-10-10.pdf</a> On what page number of what document can your "facts" be found? Your "claims" about material being "stolen" are looking VERY interesting now. Good Night and Good Luck
Suzanne A
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : noon
PP 2008 annual report as stated in my reply
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 2:09 p.m.
PP has an annual budget of more than $1 billion annually (see my link above). Even were one to accept your numbers, for which you provide no source whatsoever, $137 million is less than 14% of PP's budget.. But keep misrepresenting the facts. It serves to undermine your initial spurious claim. Good Night and Good Luck
Suzanne A
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 1:33 p.m.
Having participated in the 40 Days For LIfe Prayer Vigil I can assure you that it is a peaceful, prayerful initiative. No literature contains "graphic" content. There are pictures of typical human life development in the womb. All of which can be found in any Science textbook on the Development of Human LIfe. The 40 Days For Life is not a protest. It is a grass roots movement with three components: prayer, fasting, and community outreach. Planned Parenthood does apparently provide both abortion and prenatal services. However the abortion services far outnumber the care of the preborn life. One observation I can give during my time in front of the Planned Parenthood in AnnAbor is the disturbing inconsistency in one day watching a young woman or a couple go in to end the life of their child. Then the very next day in the same exact facility another couple enter to gain prenatal "care" for their child. Most that go to receive prenatal services do not know that this very same facility on another given day ends the life of another mother's child. Regarding facts - perhaps PP does claim that abortions are only 3% of it's total services. Let's assume this is accurate. The other statistic not given is what this equates to in where abortions fit in PP's overall financial gain. Let's look at the facts from PP 2008 annual report: *Annual abortions performed at PP - 305,310 *Average cost of an abortion - $450 *Total income from abortions - $137,389,500 Total health center income - $374,700,000 That makes their revenue from abortions a bit more than 35% of its business! That is where the "non-profit" PP makes most of its profit!
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 12:15 p.m.
The theft is wrong. That we all know. If anything it just makes for more anger. But, since Planned Parenthood just published that a third of a million people had their hearts stopped (332,278 in 2009) by Planned Parenthood 'services' - I think a few stolen posters is likely not going to effect the issue too much.
Brad
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 11:46 a.m.
I'll be on the lookout for a bunch of gruesome handouts and posters.
Snuggle
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 11:20 a.m.
Differences DON'T not "differences doesn't". Ugh.
Basic Bob
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 2:03 a.m.
I wish I understood the expression "crisis pregnancy situation". Is this the time that you need to graphically demonstrate to the mother that there exists a real live baby, before she makes a decision whether to terminate? If this is the case, the pregnancy is not a crisis. It is a crisis of your control over the mother's choice.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 1:05 a.m.
Still pushing that irony thing, eh? I find it "ironic" that you have chosen to completely misrepresent what I wrote. Nowhere in my post did I say anything about mammograms. Nowhere in PP literature will you find anything about mammograms What you will find is that PP provided approximately 800,000 breast exams last year. This whole make-believe "scandal" appears to be based on a mis-statement by PP's director on the Joy Behar show. You want to call it a lie? Fine. If so, it's a really dumb one, because PP's own literature makes it clear that what she said is not the case. Source: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/planned-parenthood-challenged-on-purported-mammogram-claim/2011/03/30/AFjCFO3B_story.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/planned-parenthood-challenged-on-purported-mammogram-claim/2011/03/30/AFjCFO3B_story.html</a> So the "gross misrepresentation" is, as is almost always the case, conservatives taking a single event, blowing it completely out of context, and then presenting it as fact. Misrepresentations built upon misrepresentations built upon misrepresentations. The number of abortions are 12% of . . . what? The 3% I cited is what PP spends its money on--3% of PP's budget goes toward abortion. Your 12% is 12% of . . . .what? And, as for your link to Abby Johnson's wild claims: <a href="http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/kirbygirl87/2010/1/8/Planned-Parenthood-vs-Abby-Johson-and-Coaltion-for-Life--Who-is-telling-the-truth" rel='nofollow'>http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/kirbygirl87/2010/1/8/Planned-Parenthood-vs-Abby-Johson-and-Coaltion-for-Life--Who-is-telling-the-truth</a> Doesn't your god wag her finger at deception? Thankfully some of us are not encumbered by the god delusion. Good Night and Good Luck
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 6:28 p.m.
"The metric of what consists of a service is subjective, each visit for "contraception" is counted as a separate service whereas any and all visits with abortion are counted as the single single visit." Can you cite a source NOT affiliated with a Right to Life person organization for this so-called "fact"? Because the only place I have found this fact is in sites affiliated with or that reference Abby Johnson, and her credibility on this issue is ZERO. As for your other "numbers," the key number is your contention about what PP "charges," yet none of your site says what PP charges. Again, can you cites a source NOT RTL/Ms. Johnson? But this is really beside the point. Whether it is 3% of PP's budget or 13%, the fact of the matter is that the money is being spend providing a LEGAL service. End of story. Good Night and Good Luck
Joe Hood
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 3:38 a.m.
@Ed According to PP, that's 3% of services, not budget. That 332,278 abortions and 997 adoption referrals. (<a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/PP_Services.pdf)" rel='nofollow'>http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/PP_Services.pdf)</a> The metric of what consists of a service is subjective, each visit for "contraception" is counted as a separate service whereas any and all visits with abortion are counted as the single single visit. 332,278 x $400 = $132,911,200 Total expenses on (<a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/PPFA_Annual_Report_08-09-FINAL-12-10-10.pdf)" rel='nofollow'>http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/PPFA_Annual_Report_08-09-FINAL-12-10-10.pdf)</a> was $1,037,400,000. I pulled my number from the Harvard report but there are some numbers listed here: <a href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_an_abortion_and_birth_control_pills_cost" rel='nofollow'>http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_an_abortion_and_birth_control_pills_cost</a>
Ricebrnr
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 1:26 a.m.
Joe for pete's sake even when I argue my points I don't cite clearly biased material. Jeez go to the source material for crying out loud. Sec filings...Wall Street Journal...NY Times..
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 11:37 a.m.
3% of the budget provides 3% of the budget. 3 = 3, not 33. Once again, your god is wagging her finger. Good Night and Good Luck
Joe Hood
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 4:05 a.m.
@Ed: if you try to go down the facts route on this issue, you'll run into trouble at every end: That 3% provides 33% of the operating budget ($400 a pop). Another great portion of funding is being able to get pills at $5 and sell them for $25: <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2009/11/30/nat-5714/" rel='nofollow'>http://www.lifenews.com/2009/11/30/nat-5714/</a>
Matt Cooper
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 12:59 a.m.
"Taking our banners and literature is not a very mature way to disagree." And you taking an opportunity to torpedo Planned Parenthood in such a childish fashion is a mature way to disagree with them?
Kathy
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 12:16 a.m.
Responding to Edward's Ghost. I'm sorry you think I'm implying that Planned Parenthood (PP) stole our items; that's not what I said or meant. It's just ironic the theft happened the same weekend the PP bus was in town. Obviously our presence at PP is bothering someone enough to resort to stealing our banners and supplies (which, by the way, were not graphic in any way, as some people assume). My comments about PP's services were actually quite accurate. You inaccurately said that 3% of PP's budget goes toward abortion services. PP actually claims that abortions make up just 3% of its services. This is a gimmick. The number of abortions are "actually closer to 12%, but strategically skewed by unbundling family planning services so that each patient shows anywhere from five to 20 "visits" per appointment (i.e., 12 packs of birth control equals 12 visits) and doing the opposite with abortion visits, bundling them together so that each appointments equals one visit. The resulting difference between family planning and abortion "visits" is striking." Source (written by a former PP director): <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/153699-exposing-the-planned-parenthood-business-model" rel='nofollow'>http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/153699-exposing-the-planned-parenthood-business-model</a>. Speaking of gross misrepresentation, PP says it provides mammograms. This is one of many examples of their lies. No PP in America does mammograms. They merely refer patients to other clinics that actually provide this health service. Please see <a href="http://liveaction.org/blog/planned-parenthood-ceos-false-mammogram-claim-exposed" rel='nofollow'>http://liveaction.org/blog/planned-parenthood-ceos-false-mammogram-claim-exposed</a>. Hope these facts help you see PP in a new light.
Aaron Wolf
Fri, Apr 22, 2011 : 3:47 p.m.
These are pretty significant claims. I don't have enough data to verify, but as this is coming from you and others who believe a lot of religious superstition without any evidence, you aren't a very trustworthy source of facts. That doesn't mean you're wrong, of course (that would be an ad hominem error), and there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about abortion... I just wish we all actually were trying to objectively understand the facts instead of throwing out the most extreme and doubtful statistics that help our positions... The fact is: Planned Parenthood functions to be exactly what their name says. Abortion is one of many services that help people have children when they feel it is right without denying our biologically driven sex-drive. The result is healthier families and people who feel more control over their lives. Later-term abortions are clearly disturbing, and I'm not sure I can support them myself. But I am 100% certain that all Planned Parenthood folks would rather prevent a pregnancy than perform abortion, so the conversation needs to START by acknowledging this common and positive goal instead of demonizing one another.
Bear
Fri, Apr 22, 2011 : 12:37 a.m.
your idea that 'obviously' your presence at PP is bothering someone, is pure horsepucky. how about another idea. That you simply faked your supplies getting stolen, so you could point the finger at PP, since they were in town, ironically, at the same time. Your accusations and actions are inexcusable, regardless of how much you claim that you are not accusing them. your idea of a misrepresentation in your last paragraph is really stretching it, but I guess whatever straw you can grasp at is good enough for you.
bedrog
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 11:35 p.m.
Kathy: Whether or not your "vigils" are in any way like those of the local synagogue harassers ( also self -described 'vigilers"... but hey! i prefer the dictionary definitions!!) your 'M.O." sure seems to be: i.e attribution of guilt to your opponants by the most remote , and arguably libelous, of associations and gross---also libelous-- mistatements of your opponants positions. Plus a postion of your own that is seriously open to debate and refutation. "Planned parenthood's only option is abortion"....utter defamatory bosh!! With all due respect...of course ( lest i be "moderated")!
Ricebrnr
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 11:32 p.m.
And yet some use that same difference of opinion to justify stalking and murdering healthcare providers... Makes the disappearance of you "literature" seem pretty petty, huh?
bedrog
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 1:50 p.m.
ditto to ermg's...
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 11:41 p.m.
I seldom agree with you, Ricebrnr. But you have hit the nail on the head in this case! Good Night and Good Luck
amlive
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 11:14 p.m.
Kathy, in the first two paragraphs of your letter I began to feel sorry for your organization, and even a bit angry with the person who stole them. Those feelings quickly slip away when you seem to take a rather twisted and pious posture in the paragraphs immediately following. Yes, it was completely wrong, immoral, illegal for whoever stole from you to take this route. When you try to frame your argument in a philosophy of "we may disagree, but let's keep disagreements to reasonable discourse", but then proceed to regurgitate "information" ranging form heavily spun and skewed to entirely inaccurate, and then use quotes to express the other party's choices to be somehow invalid - Let's just say my sympathy for your group quickly fades away. I do hope you get your "literature" returned, so that you can "help" people with your peaceful "prayerful" vigils. Honestly and unfortunately though, I expect it probably went straight in to a dumpster. Otherwise, I hope you consider how you respect others views not to be invalid because they disagree with your own.
Michael
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 11:13 p.m.
It's shocking that such unsubstantiated garble could have been published. Throughout the country, many from planned parenthood have been victims of malicious attacks and even killed. Offices have been vandalized and workers intimidated to the point of besiegement. To to wildly levy actuations on little more than a dogmatic hunch is irresponsible. The veiled notion that individuals from Planned Parenthood stole the items to drive up demand is disturbing. These are kind, caring people, not vandals and brigands.
Urban Sombrero
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 10:08 p.m.
When you point a finger, you have 3 pointing right back at you.
Urban Sombrero
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 2:01 a.m.
@ferdcom, I didn't mean that to come across as an accusation! It's really just an old saying.
ferdcom
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 10:51 p.m.
Do you have any proof?
David Briegel
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 10:03 p.m.
I choose to associate myself with bruceae and ERMG. And I have a great deal of sympathy for poor Stephanie who is under the delusion that anyone, anywhere, at any time ever spoke or heard the words that their ONLY choice was an abortion. That is as absurd as the Lie Sen Kyl uttered on the floor of the United States Senate. Why is it we can't just disagree without such utter lack of respect for the truth? Pathetic!
Stephanie
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 5:26 a.m.
Sorry, but I am not into politics. The ego can be very illusory. It is unfortunate that someone would steal materials that are provided to help woman ex. homemade baby blankets, pregnancy help center information, ultrasound information, adoption information, and even post-abortion support information. What is the harm in providing those materials? I consider myself to be pro-life, but I ultimately support choice because that is not something we can deny anyone. I am 24 with a 3 year old, my mother gave birth to me at a young age. I very well could have been a victim of abortion. I personally know a few women who have been adversely affected by their own abortions. There are good organizations such as Silent No More for men/woman who have been affected by abortion and wish to speak out.
Stephanie
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 9:33 p.m.
Thank you for helping all of the woman who need support, and feel that they have no other "choice" besides getting an abortion.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 9:05 p.m.
Yes, it is unfortunate that someone stole your material. It is even more unfortunate that you are implying that someone connected with Planned Parenthood is guilty of this theft despite the fact that you have presented no evidence whatsoever to support your implication. And it is even more unfortunate that you have grossly misrepresented Planned Parenthood's services and budget. PAP smears, breast exams, STD exams and treatment, etc. . . are, apparently, just "cosmetic". FACT: 3% of PP's budget goes toward abortion services Source: <a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/PPFA_Annual_Report_08-09-FINAL-12-10-10.pdf" rel='nofollow'>http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/PPFA_Annual_Report_08-09-FINAL-12-10-10.pdf</a> With such misrepresentations of what Planned Parenthood actually does, it makes one wonder about the veracity of undocumented claims and accusations in your "letter". Indeed, one wonders why A2.com published this letter given its guidelines regarding accusing people of a crime. Good Night and Good Luck
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 1:09 a.m.
"What is the relevance of PP's 'budget' to her central point?" She has no backup for her "evidence," no verifiable source. The "statistics" she cites makes it appear that abortions represent most of what PP does--it's called "the Big Lie"--today known as a Kyl-ism, after Sen. John Kyl. The 3% is important because it is more representative of what PP does with its resources. But I do understand why the 3% upsets you. Factual evidence vs. bizarre fairy tale. Good Night and Good Luck
Paul S.
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 10 p.m.
Ghost: You haven't answered my question, which concerns the relevance of the "FACT"s you have introduced. Sure, NPR's statistic is different from Ms. Dobrowolski's statistic. Sure, abortion is "LEGAL" (in bold, screaming capitals). So what? Two points of Ms. Dobrowolski's editorial were that: a) in so far as PP provides pregnancy-related services to women who are already pregnant, PP's statistics suggest that the vast majority of those services (pick one of three outcomes: pre-natal care; adoption; abortion) fall into a single outcome category: abortion. b) conversely, Ms. Dobrowolski's group directs and supports pregnant women in discovering the other two outcome "choices." The services that PP provides to non-pregnant women may be important to public health but they are irrelevant as to Ms. Dobrowolski's central points - which analyze the pregnancy-related services delivered by PP to pregnant women in the light of our American rhetoric of "freedom of choice." What is the relevance of PP's 'budget' to her central point?
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 6:21 p.m.
Paul: As the link you provided shows, it depends on what data one uses to determine the statistic. But, since you like the NPR stat so much, 10% is far less that the outlandish numbers Ms. Dobrowlski cites. And, at the end of the day, PP is providing a LEGAL service. So, whether it is 3%, 10%, or Ms. D's over-the-top and completely unsubstantiated numbers, the services PP provides are LEGAL. Don't want an abortion? Then I suggest that you not have one. Good Night and Good Luck
Paul S.
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 1:56 a.m.
Hey Ghost, How is PP's internal 'budgeting' of its funds relevant as a response to Kathy's claim that she and her group support "choices" for pregnant women, while PP apparently steers most of its clients into one "choice"? Even NPR fact-checked PP's understatement of abortion services and pointed out that for every 100 women that enter a Planned Parenthood, 10 leave after an abortion is performed on them: <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/03/08/134367441/Letters-Manning-Up-And-Planned-Parenthood" rel='nofollow'>http://www.npr.org/2011/03/08/134367441/Letters-Manning-Up-And-Planned-Parenthood</a>
bruceae
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 8:57 p.m.
Bummer, now you can't stand out on Washtenaw trying to shock everyone with your graphic signs.