TresSugar

College Student Goes Undercover to Stop Abortion

TresSugar — Fri, 29 May 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Lila Rose, a 20-year-old student at UCLA, has dedicated her life to ending abortion. At the age of 15, Lila founded Live Action, a nonprofit that uses new media to spread the pro-life message. In this video, Lila poses as a 14-year old looking for an abortion after her 31-year-old boyfriend got her pregnant. The Planned Parenthood worker at the Tennessee office tells her to just say that her boyfriend is 17-years-old, so she won't have to report statutory rape.

I found the clip hard to watch. While the idea of a 14-year-old getting impregnated by a 31-year-old is sickening, I can't help but think the Planned Parenthood worker is trying to be compassionate to the girl who wants so badly to trust the worker. In the end, the law requires the worker to report evidence of sexual abuse, and it's pretty clear that the worker intended to ignore it. But that is a different issue unrelated to whether the 14-year-old should have access to a legal abortion in the first place.

Does this video make you sympathetic to the pro-life movement?

License to Live: Virginia Riles Pro-Choicers With License Plate

CitizenSugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:00:42 -0700

Forget that lighthouse plate you were about to order, you can take your personal view on abortion to the street now in Virginia. Governor Tim Kaine, who also happens to be chair of the DNC, signed legislation to legalize license plates with the phrase "Choose Life." And it's decidedly not a Trainspotting reference.

Though not the first state to offer pro-life plates, Virginia's law has incurred the wrath of pro-choice groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL/Pro-Choice, who sent more than 17,000 emails and 200 calls to the DNC urging the governor to veto the bill. But Kaine, who personally opposes abortion but politically supports it, said it's not about reproductive rights; it's about freedom of speech.

Besides, he's told Planned Parenthood it can make its own license plate. Choose Choice?

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Roe v. Wade Anniversary: 3 Changes Obama Could Make

LibertySugar — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:00:00 -0800

Today marks the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that made abortion legal. Obama is expected to make policy-changing decisions that will please some of his most devoted supporters after eight years with a pro-life president.

What policies are being considered, or unconsidered? To find out, read more.

Mexico City Policy
Obama is most likely to overturn the policy that's also known as the global gag rule today. It prohibits foreign assistance to international family groups, like Planned Parenthood, who support abortion by either performing or promoting it. The policy was drafted by Ronald Reagan in 1984, rescinded by Bill Clinton today in 1993 - the second day of his presidency - and reinstituted by George W. Bush on the second day of his.
Freedom of Choice Act
While this act cannot be passed in one day, President Obama has said he would sign it if Congress passed it. The Freedom of Choice Act would classify women's rights under Roe v. Wade and prohibit any interference with the right to have an abortion.
Pregnant Women Support Act
Supported by progressive pro-lifers, who feel making abortion a legal-nonlegal issue is unproductive, the act would emphasis prenatal healthcare, keeping young women in school, and providing guidance after a baby is born.

What would you like to see changed?

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Unemployment Fallout: Planned Parenthood Sells Gift Cards

CitizenSugar — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:00:53 -0800

Gift certificates and gift cards may seem like a risky investment because some newly bankrupt companies refuse to honor outstanding gift cards, but apparently there's an even more controversial gift option on the market this year. Planned Parenthood in Indiana is offering gift certificates for the first time ever. The organization said a big increase in calls and visits from newly unemployed and uninsured citizens prompted what it deems the "unusual, yet practical" gift option. The certificates can be purchased in denominations of $25 to $100 and can be used for contraceptives and care like $58 examinations that include breast exams and pap tests. Chrystal Struben-Hall, vice president of Planned Parenthood of Indiana says:

People are making really tough decisions about putting gas in their car and food on their table, so we know that many women especially put healthcare at the bottom of their list to do. . . . They really are intended for preventative healthcare. We decided not to put restrictions on the gift certificates so it's for whatever people feel they need the services for most.

A local TV news station asked if the gift certificates could be used toward abortions. Planned Parenthood said yes, but that's not the purpose. The Indiana Family Institute president said he is "appalled" by the certificates. What do you think of the move?

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Briefing Book! Planned Parenthood Airs Ad on Women's Health

LibertySugar — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:05:00 -0700

Women: Bad medicine? Planned Parenthood running ads slamming McCain health plan's treatment of women health issues. - Jezebel
Abortion: The truth about Obama's abortion record and positions is harsh and ugly? A message to everyone who was ever a fetus. - Townhall
Money: Do you know how much Americans tip each year? Probably more than Europeans. - SavvySugar
Culture Wars: Which is the best? Embattled representative Michele Bachmann says not all cultures are equal. - Huffington Post
McCain: Not over? In McCain's uphill battle, winning is an option. - NYTimes
Obama: Happy days are here again? Obama secures endorsements from Opie, the Fonz, and Richie Cunnigham. - Pensito Review
Law: Will motorists rejoice? County in England ditches cameras that catch speeders. - newsblog

Politician's Idea: Paying Poor Women $1,000 to Get Tubes Tied

CitizenSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:51:16 -0700

One Louisiana politician's brainstorm for stopping generational welfare - welfare recipients having children who also end up on assistance - is giving birth to huge controversy. The idea? Offering $1,000 to poor women to get their tubes tied. State Rep. John LaBruzzo has a host of other controversial plans including paying poor men to get vasectomies and giving tax incentives to college-educated, wealthy couples for having children - and the plan is causing some medical professionals to point to its similarities to eugenics programs.

LaBruzzo says he's since modified his plan to include temporary forms of birth control, not just sterilization and argues criticism like this, "I don't know how it's eugenics if it's voluntary, and how can it be racist if the majority of people on welfare are white?"

Of the genesis of the idea, the crushing cycle of poverty, LaBruzzo says:

After this recent storm, we had some issues where these people were going into shelters and taking their cigarettes and welfare but didn't have diapers or insulin for diabetic kids, and they felt they were entitled to say, 'Give me, give me.' None of them didn't want to set up cots or do anything.

To see how incentive programs have worked, read more.

Local policy makers say that the number of welfare recipients in Louisiana have actually dropped since 1991, disputing the need for an incentive program - but Planned Parenthood has actually tried it. In 1989 the group ran a program in Denver paying teen mothers a dollar a day not to get pregnant again. The program seemed to work then, though a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood says now:

Such bribes don't work. It doesn't solve the underlying issues - access to health care and paying jobs. If he'd like to ensure that men and women aren't having too many children, then he should propose legislation to make sure that health care and education to prevent unwanted pregnancy is available to everyone.

Following on the heels of Liberty's post yesterday about the judge who ordered a woman to stop having kids, does the idea of providing an incentive not to have kids seem like a creative response to a big problem - or is it a little bit like a Modest Proposal for the modern age? Good idea or dreadful concept?

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Send Condoms to Republicans, Give Money to Democrats

CitizenSugar — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:00:15 -0700

Planned Parenthood must think that the conventions are just big orgies. They're asking supporters to send condoms to the Republican National Convention along with money, of course, that will go to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Barack Obama's campaign.

Ten dollars will send one condom, $35 sends four, you get the picture. The Democrats will get the money, and they're hoping the Republicans will get the message.

OK, so the condoms aren't meant to be used (but they can . . . even for the most conventional sex), they're meant to serve as a reminder that prevention is a nonpartisan issue. Even if Planned Parenthood relays the message in its usual partisan tone, saying:

They don't get that young people need comprehensive, accurate sex education. They don't get that they don't belong in the exam room letting their politics get in the middle of a woman and her doctor. And they don't get that preventing sexually transmitted diseases starts with one simple item: a condom.

Do you think Republicans will get Planned Parenthood's message? Or are the bright-pink wrappers distracting and the message, um, plastic?

Planned Parenthood isn't the only safe-sex group cropping up at the conventions. To see who we saw last week, read more.

Trojan condoms had a tent supporting their "get it on agenda" and handed out condoms in favor of "evolving." The tent let you test your Sex IQ. Let's say there were lots of folks taking the free rubbers - all in the name of good legislation, I'm sure.

Awwwkward: McCain Can't Answer Question About The Pill(s)

LibertySugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:20:00 -0700

Ever wonder why many insurance companies cover Viagra but not birth control? That can put a woman in a tough spot! John McCain hasn't been too worried about it, since he voted against a bill that would require insurance companies to match Viagra coverage with birth control coverage.

One reporter tried to find out if McCain changed his mind, but the candidate became extremely uncomfortable (trying to hide behind his hand) and refused to answer the question. Now Planned Parenthood is running the video in a cable TV ad playing in key swing states. Do you think it will be effective? Does this impact your opinion of McCain?

Whose Message Is Planned Parenthood Looking to Abort?

CitizenSugar — Sun, 11 May 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Sometimes Liberty and I get tired of listening to ourselves talk - luckily there are a lot of smart folks running around Sugar HQ. Colleenb just blogged about her complicated relationship with Planned Parenthood and who they're out to get in this campaign. Take a peek and see what she had to say:

Young women love to love Planned Parenthood; I hate to hate it. But I do. Sort of. I feel terrible about it.

I find them so brazenly one-sided - and I agree with them! I've donated money. I've been an postabortion counselor. I even open their emails. With subjects like "I [Heart] My Cervix," wouldn't you? And now I am getting real mail. They just sent me my latest assignment in the course of being a uterus owner: Ensure America knows John McCain's position on women's health.

Of course, in the language of progressive politics, "women's health" roughly translates to "will I still be able to get an abortion? Legally." So where does John McCain stand?

To find out, read more.

Well, we're lucky he stands at all, so as you might imagine, women's health is not an issue on which he stands tall. A prolifer, he does condone abortion when pregnancy results from rape or incest or when the woman's life is endangered. This is what I expect to hear from a Republican in the general election - conservative but not inflexible.

Don't get me wrong! I would not vote for McCain. Do. Not. Want. But I understand the prolife position and see how people arrive at it; there should be a candidate who represents it.

Nonetheless, staunchly prochoice Planned Parenthood is going to set them straight. They've launched a campaign and are arming everyone who has ever given them their time or money - and address! - with the truth about John McCain. According to the letter:

In the Senate, McCain has an unrelenting antichoice voting record. He opposes almost all abortions. He has also voted in opposition to comprehensive sex education, which can help reduce the need for abortion. He supports the Bush Administration Federal Abortion Ban. And he has made perfectly clear that overturning Roe v. Wade would be a priority in his administration.

That's not an idle threat when just one more antichoice justice in the US Supreme Court could spell an end to Roe v. Wade.

Emphasis is theirs!

And they’re not just relying on paper to spread the word; they’ve got a website: The Truth About John McCain. They mean well. They do. But I cannot stand their aggressive delivery. As soon as hear the words "antichoice" and on the other side "antilife," I stop listening.

If Planned Parenthood turns off a supporter, how do they plan to bring over those on the fence?

Do you agree with colleenb? Does disagreeing with the delivery of a message sometimes overshadow your approval of it? Do you agree with Planned Parenthood's thoughts on McCain? How does he stack up on the choice issue against Hillary and Obama? Is it important to you?

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MLK Jr's Niece Says Planned Parenthood Is "Black Genocide"

CitizenSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:45:47 -0700

Dr. Alveda King is among a group of prolife black leaders demanding an end to federal funding for Planned Parenthood citing what she calls Planned Parenthood's "racist agenda." Here's what she said:

Planned Parenthood is definitely a racist organization - they have a racist agenda. Since 1970, there has been something like 50 million abortions. About 17 million of those have been blacks. It's black genocide. They are killing our people and fooling us.

She went on to say:

There are more Planned Parenthood clinics in black neighborhoods, because there is an artificial demand, which was created by Planned Parenthood. We were told by Planned Parenthood that abortion, which is actually murder, is therapeutic.

Stemming from the investigation of an incident where a UCLA publication successfully donated money to Planned Parenthood to be earmarked for black abortions, last month the National Black Pro-Life Union (which includes King for America and is led by King) sent letters to organizations including the NAACP, the ACLU, and members of Congress calling for termination of federal funding of Planned Parenthood. The government funding currently exceeds $300 million a year.

The issue could be personal for King as well. To see how, read more. King said she was partially motivated to join the campaign to terminate federal funding after being coaxed into getting an abortion in the early 1970s by a Planned Parenthood office that told her that her baby was "just a blob" of tissue.

Her comments are certainly thought provoking. Do you think her sentiments are accurate? Is there a racial bias in Planned Parenthood? Is it "black genocide?" Do these words strike a greater chord coming from a King? Are you most surprised that the federal government funds it to the degree that they do? Do you think it should be given more money or cut off altogether?

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