The Girl Scouts…My initial thoughts are of my own few years in the Scouts as a young girl. Selling cookies, earning badges, going to campouts, reading Bible stories around a camp fire, spending precious time with my mother who worked 3 jobs and yet still had time for every scouting event. Those memories are probably some of the most precious that I carry with me from my childhood.
I’m certain that for most Americans, this warm, fuzzy, sentimental reaction is pretty standard when considering the Girl Scouts. It is an organization that we trust, one that we turn our daughters to in complete faith that only good things will come of it.
Which is precisely why the conservative community is expressing such an outrage to the exposure of the once-so-innocent group’s ties to and outright support of pro-abortion organizations. As a community, we are shell-shocked to discover their over $1 million per year contribution to a worldwide organization known for advocating ‘sexual and reproductive rights’ (code for abortion) and to learn of their participation in and support of the May 2013 Women Deliver conference; which hosted speakers such as late-term abortionist Leroy Carhart; philosopher Peter Singer, who supports infanticide and euthanasia; and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who is currently under investigation by a congressional committee. Other attendees included Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the United Nations Population Fund. The title of one of the speeches given at the conference was “Why I perform Abortions.”
Mothers and fathers are appalled that they have placed their trust, and their daughters, in an organization that is making a very clear statement that they are not only not neutral on the subject, as they once promised to remain, but that they are decidedly pro-abortion. Their participation in this conference, and their continued monetary and public support of Planned Parenthood and The Coalition for Adolescent Girls, a group that supports and distributes comprehensive sex education (taking the ‘birds and bees’ talk away from parents) and abortion related care for young girls, is downright shocking and reprehensible.
As Christians living in a nation based on Christian morals, as Americans raising families in the “Land of the Free,” we feel betrayed. We are forced to question everything. We are asking ourselves, ‘Are we really letting our daughters participate in an organization that supports teaching 11 year olds about anal intercourse?’
We are outraged. Families are making commitments to never buy girl scouts cookies again and are looking at alternatives for scouting, such as the American Heritage Girls. Personally, I made this decision a few years ago after first learning about the Girl Scouts growing support and increasing public opinion in regards to abortion; and I am beaming with pride at my fellow Americans choosing to take the same stand for their families, for their daughters. But I am forced to point out to those taking this stand that the shocking ties and support for pro-abortion organizations in our society does not begin and end with the Girl Scouts. It is much, much deeper and much more sinister than that. Planned Parenthood has its claws sunk so deeply into the very fabric of this country that it would probably be easier for me to tell you where you WON’T find them than where you will.
Despite the existence of the Hyde Amendment, banning use of federal funds for abortion-related services; Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in America, currently receives 1/3 (roughly $345 million) of their income from Federal tax dollars. Another $244 million comes from sponsors, businesses, and charities that support their mission [1].
Other than contacting our elected officials and making our voices heard, there is little we can do about the $345 million Planned Parenthood receives from your tax dollars; but there IS something we can do about the other roughly $244 million they receive from businesses, organizations, and charities. These are places you and I shop, eat, work, and live. And the loudest noise we can make and easiest stand we can take is to no longer purchase products or services from businesses that support organizations like Planned Parenthood. Money talks, ladies and gentlemen. And, when we take our money away from businesses who directly or indirectly support the slaughter of innocent children and the moral degradation of our society, they will hear us loud and clear and they will be forced to change something or go out of business.
About 20 years ago, AT&T took this stand once they learned what Planned Parenthood was really about [2]. Planned Parenthood tried to bully them, much like they did recently with Susan G. Komen, but AT&T stood strong in their conviction to remove their monetary support for such a morally bankrupt organization. AT&T took a stand for families, for morals, and for LIFE. And it is our duty, our calling, and our mission to DEMAND that every other business that supports Planned Parenthood follow in AT&T’s footsteps.
Remember your shock and outrage upon learning that Susan G. Komen, a breast cancer research charity, donated funds to Planned Parenthood, who performs exactly ZERO mammograms per year? You would be equally shocked to know that The March of Dimes, a charity who describes itself as being committed to ending premature births and promoting healthy pregnancies, also donates funds and provides yearly grants to Planned Parenthood [3].
- For those that don’t know, you are 3 times more likely to give birth to a premature baby if you’ve had an abortion before, five times more likely if you’ve had two, and nine times more likely with three or more [4]. So, to me, it seems a little counter-productive to provide grants to an organization CAUSING the very thing they are trying to prevent. But maybe I’m just crazy.
Another well known, household name who we all have come to trust is Johnson & Johnson. You can’t be invited to a baby shower and not see a gift with the Johnson & Johnson logo on it. The majority of their products are directed towards the care of infants, yet they donated roughly $1 million to abortion-providing Planned Parenthood in the last two years alone. So, again, it just seems like a bad business decision to support killing off their customer base.
Planned Parenthood has sunk its teeth into almost every big name in our market place today. Other businesses, charities, and organizations include: The American Red Cross, Proctor & Gamble (P&G), General Electric (GE), Kroger, Whole Food Market, Suntrust Bank, JP Morgan Chase (Chase Bank), WellsFargo, Darden Restuarants (think Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Longhorns, etc), Unicef, UnitedWay, Home Depot, Ebay, PayPal, Frito Lay, Pepsi-Co, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Hilton and Marriot Hotel chains, and the list goes on [5]. I could go on, but I’d be writing until next Thursday.
Now, I realize that’s a pretty overwhelming amount of contributors, but it isn’t even the beginning. For a full list, please visit the Georgia Businesses for Life Facebook page or FightPP.org.
My purpose in revealing these businesses to you is to expose the vast net Planned Parenthood has cast over our nation. It really is almost to the point to where you cannot purchase any brand name product in a grocery store without some of your money supporting Planned Parenthood.
I’m sure you’re wondering, ‘…I chose life, and I teach my kids to, so why should I care?’ You should care, friend, because this isn’t about abortion. I know I’m throwing you off, but stay with me. Planned Parenthood does perform abortions, yes, and it is absolutely reprehensible and we will continue to fight for the rights of EVERY person to live. But what is even more appalling is that they create the NEED for abortions in the first place.
Planned Parenthood seeks out your children, much like the Bible verse warning us that the enemy is like a lion seeking to kill, steal, and destroy. Planned Parenthood goes into our public school system, whispering their appealing slogans and fancy words in the ears of our children, exposing our children (as young as 9 years old) to sexually explicit content, pictures and videos, and encouraging them to experiment with masturbation and oral/anal sex to ‘preserve’ their virginity.…I’m sorry… WHAT?! Hey, Planned Parenthood, last time I checked, the birds and the bees talk is one that is MY job to have with MY children. Why don’t YOU stay out of MY CHILD’S bedroom, hmmm?
Planned Parenthood encourages our sons and daughter to embrace sex, convinces them that talking to their parents is a dead-end street, that we couldn’t possibly understand what our children are feeling or experiencing. The organization alienates our children from us, encourages them to reach out their peers in their quest to understand raging hormones and desires, provides them with cheap and in-effective birth control, and when *SHOCK AND SURPRISE* an unplanned pregnancy does occur, they invite our daughters into their clinics without our knowledge, and tell her that killing her child is the only option. And then, they kill our grandchild and create a gaping wound in the heart of our child. One that we cannot even attempt to try to help heal or comfort because we don’t even know that it has occurred [6].
Our issue isn’t only abortion when it comes to Planned Parenthood. Our issue is that they are seeking to destroy our families. They are whispering appealing lies into the ears of our children, and we can’t even fight it because we don’t know it’s going on. They are slowing eroding the very foundation of this country. As long as they are making money, they honestly don’t care who is getting hurt. Live Action’s Lila Rose has revealed many instances where they have covered up rape, sex trafficking, domestic abuse, underage abortions, and child molestation; further proving that their claims of wanting to advance the rights of women and provide help to low-income women to be completely false.
Are you going to sit back and let them steal your children with dirty, sleazy advertisements like this? Or are you going to do something?
When you donate funds, contract with other businesses that donate funds, or shop with companies that donate funds, you are directly supporting a company that performs abortions. You are supporting a company that consistently lies to women and tells them that the key to female liberation is murdering their unborn children.
Take a pledge. Today. Pledge to obtain a list of companies, organizations, and charities that support Planned Parenthood, and pledge to not spend a single dime ever again on any of their products or services.
Why should you take this boycott pledge?
Because it is up to people like you to hit the lucrative abortion industry where it hurts: in their wallet.
Because if you don’t take a stand to support life, who will?
Because you deserve to know that your money is going towards causes you believe in.
Because children need an advocate. They need a voice.
You should take this stand…. Because you are that voice.
- Planned Parenthood Annual Report 2011-2012
- Seattle Times. April 13, 1990
- The Daily Reporter. March 28, 1996
- Time Magazine, Study Links Abortions and Preemies, December 18th, 2007
- Life Decisions International, The Boycott List, 2012
- “Selling Teen Abortions: Parents Beware” By Carol Everett
http://therealjoshuaedmonds.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/breaking-the-facade/
Girl Scout CEO Kathy Cloninger stated “We partner with many organizations. We have relationships with … Planned Parenthood organizations across the country.”
For 14 years,the Girls Scouts of Waco, Texas, co-sponsored a sex-education conference with Planned Parenthood featuring a book written by a member of Planned Parenthood’s Board of Advocates titled, “It’s Perfectly Normal.” This charming tome, given to Girl Scouts in attendance (some as young as 10), replete with graphic sketches of sex organs and techniques, tells kids that abortion can be a “positive experience.”
If Girl Scout defenders call this old news, show them the current Planned Parenthood sex-ed program, “Real Life. Real Talk,” where the Girl Scouts of NYPENN are listed as a valuable partner.
Girl Scouts tax returns showing its annual million-dollar-plus contribution to the radical World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, an aggressively pro-abortion organization that openly partners with International Planned Parenthood Federation. (Incidentally, every little girl who signs up for the Girl Scouts is automatically made a member of this umbrella group.)
What has Girl Scouts headquarters in highest dudgeon, however, is the revelation that their “girls only” meeting at the United Nations included a sex book by Planned Parenthood. The meeting occurred during the annual Commission on the Status of Women in 2010 and the book, “Healthy, Happy and Hot” had tips for kids such as this one: “Many people think sex is just about vaginal or anal intercourse. … But, there are lots of different ways to have sex and lots of different types of sex. There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself!”
Girl Scout officials deny they distributed it, but Sharon Slater, mother of seven and president of Family Watch International, insists it was there. She tried to attend the meeting but was ushered out. Ms. Slater waited outside the door, slipped back in when it was over, and picked up one of the booklets from a stack on a table.
The best evidence that the Girl Scouts have not actually severed ties with Planned Parenthood is that Planned Parenthood has not tried to destroy them.
The pro-life movement has been concerned for a number of years about the ties between the Girl Scouts and the Planned Parenthood abortion business. Now, another web site has been launched to track the Girl Scouts’ ties to the abortion agenda.
Those ties prompted the launch of MyGirlScoutCouncil.com, that documents specific concerns on a council-by-council basis with a comprehensive approach.
Although the Girl Scout organization maintains that it takes “no position” on the issue of abortion, parents, churches, and pro-life activists have long complained of the pro-abortion slant of the Girl Scouts’ resources, role models, and affiliations. The new parent-driven website is the creation of Ann Saladin, who was a featured presenter on this topic at the June 2013 National Right to Life Convention.
“Parents have a right to know where their money goes and what messages the Girl Scouts are sending to, and on behalf of, their daughters,” she says.
Pam Fichter, president of Missouri Right to Life, which recently released their own policy statementof concern about the Girl Scouts, welcomes this new resource.
“We have found that providing specific, documented examples of the numerous pro-life concerns about the Girl Scouts to be an effective means to inform our local community.MyGirlScoutCouncil.com highlights current and verifiable pro-life concerns that apply directly to families and communities across the country,” she told LifeNews.
MyGirlScoutCouncil.com provides a valuable tool for parents, clergy, and pro-lifers by meticulously documenting how local councils specifically connect girl members throughout the United States to concerning activities, resources, funding, and affiliations.
Mariellen Rechtin and her daughter Marta had great experiences as a Girl Scout troop leader and scout. But that experience changed after Mariellen began learning of the Girl Scouts of America’s involvement with the UN Population Fund and their connections to Planned Parenthood. The feminist and liberal direction that the Girl Scouts curriculum had taken was concerning to Mariellen and several other parents. She voiced her concerns to the Girl Scout council but was ignored and asked to resign as a troop leader. As a result, Mariellen and her daughter left girl scouts.
Two other Girl Scout mothers, Kate Hein and Mary Meyer, became concerned about the Girl Scouts new direction and ties to Planned Parenthood. They too pulled their daughters out of scouts and began searching for more family-friendly alternatives. Their daughters are now enrolled in American Heritage Girls and Little Flowers. Little Flowers is a parent-led group that mainly consists of families who left Girl Scouts. The curriculum focuses on learning about virtues, doing crafts, family activities and service projects.
Patti Garibay founded American Heritage Girls in 1995 as an alternative scout group that placed more emphasis on faith and family values. Today there are over 14,000 girls involved in AHG. This growth is a testament to family desires for Christ- and family-centered guidance for young girls.
Before getting involved in Girl Scouts or another organization, parents need to be sure the values of the group are in line with what they want their girls to be. These organizations will greatly impact the women they eventually become.
http://www.facinglife.tv/episode/season_5/episode_21/episode_521.html
Most parents of current Girl Scouts have no idea what their daughters will be exposed to as they move up through the ranks in the Girl Scout program, nor are they aware of what their donations and dues paid to the Girl Scouts may be funding that may run counter to their family values. If I were a parent of a Girl Scout I would want to know the information presented on this site.
As we talked to parents and showed them some of the evidence we found during the course of our research (which was aided substantially by a team of very concerned former Girl Scouts, parents of Girl Scouts and Girl Scout leaders) it quickly became apparent that a growing number of parents disagree with many of the new elements of the Girl Scout program and the direction they are taking.
This website is one of a number of tools available to educate parents about the values and issues the modern Girl Scouts are teaching to children and youth. The site contains a list of questions and related resources that parents of current or prospective Girl Scouts should understand.
http://www.100questionsforthegirlscouts.org/100/sexualization.cfm
A newly-released, three-part video series, produced by former Girl Scouts members and their families, offers compelling evidence of the Girl Scouts’ ties to abortion advocacy groups. The producers say the videos demonstrate how the Girl Scouts’ official curriculum and website connects girls to pro-abortion role models and groups, as well as explicit sexual content.
The video series provides an in-depth look at the facts behind the pro-life concerns over the Girl Scouts, including troubling content in the Journeys curriculum books and the Girl Scouts’ financial and mission-oriented relationships with pro-abortion groups like the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
The producers also put together an on-line documentation guide that accompanies the three-part series by providing screen shots and links from the Girl Scouts’ websites, page scans from the Girl Scouts’ curriculum, and copies of the Girl Scouts’ tax returns.
Rochelle Focaracci, a former Girl Scout leader and a spokesperson for the website Girl Scouts Why Not, says the “videos and accompanying documentation clearly implicate the Girl Scouts on their continued denials of the many allegations brought forward by faith based and pro-life groups regarding their ties to pro-abortion groups and agendas.”
She urges parents to see for themselves why the Girl Scouts have generated so much controversy and says the videos validate the investigation the Catholic Church is undertaking into the ties between the Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups.
“These videos demonstrate that the Catholic bishops launched their inquiry into the Girl Scouts with good reason,” she told LifeNews. “The facts documented in the videos give Catholic parents—all pro-life parents—reason to worry. And, given the pro-abortion convictions of the Girl Scouts’ leadership, and the Girl Scouts’ long-time relationships with pro-abortion, sex-promoting advocacy groups, these problems are destined to repeat themselves.”
Christy Volanski, the mother of two former Girl Scouts who created the website, Speak Now Girl Scouts, agreed with the need to open people’s eyes to the connections.
“We created this video series because so many families asked us for a comprehensive tool to share the truth about what’s going on with the Girl Scouts organization,” she told LifeNews. “The Girl Scouts undermine the pro-life and pro-abstinence values of many Girl Scout families, but refuse to come clean about their activities. Parents want facts, not empty denials, and that’s what these videos provide.”
* In Part One of the series, the video explores the problematic Girl Scouts’ curriculum that exposes girls to abortion rights advocacy groups and role models and shows how the official Girl Scout blog links girls to resources with graphic, explicit sexual content. http://youtu.be/qqxLIcmmTZQ
* In Part Two of the series, Ann, the mother of a former fourth-generation Girl Scout from Missouri, focuses on Girl Scout USA relationships with organizations, including the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and others, that fight worldwide for abortion—and against the pro-life position. She shows proof that GSUSA is a founder and primary funder of WAGGGS. http://youtu.be/bPxMs9QvRRU
* In Part Three, Mickie, whose wife spent three years as the leader of a Florida Girl Scout troop, provides a father’s perspective on the Girl Scouts’ issues and encourages every parent, grandparent, and concerned pro-lifer to share the truth about the Girl Scouts’ harmful curriculum and relationships. http://youtu.be/7C_EeXLJzC0
The Video Series, “Pro-Life Concerns About the Girl Scouts,” was produced by SpeakNowGirlScouts.com and GirlScoutsWhyNot.com.
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/07/10/new-video-series-documents-pro-life-concerns-about-girl-scouts/
See Also:
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/06/05/girl-scouts-usa-pushes-video-honoring-pro-abortion-activists/
http://www.lifeissues.org/connector/2010/Oct10_The_Girl_Scouts.htm
http://www.lifenews.com/2011/05/18/new-pro-life-web-site-links-girl-scouts-with-planned-parenthood/
