Yes we can!

Here’s the story.  First two were Indiana and Tennessee.  Only 47 more to go!

Notice that two of three (Tennessee and North Carolina) are the very closest states to Knoxville, the home of CBR Southeast.  You think there’s a connection?

Wait a minute.  Knoxville hero Peyton Manning plays football in Indiana.  There must be something to this!  Does this make Knoxville and CBR Southeast the center of the pro-life universe?

Killing babies no longer funded with taxpayer dollars in Tennessee.

Apparently, Planned Parenthood has been stripped of its federal funding in Tennessee.  Click here for the story.

Statement by Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey here.

This is a continuation of story here.

Brian Harris, President of Tennessee Right to Life

From LifeNews.com:

Tennessee Right to Life continues to press Governor Bill Haslam to take steps to yank the taxpayer funding the Planned Parenthood abortion business receives from the state.

***

“As much as 55% of certain Planned Parenthood salaries are funded through contracts with the Tennessee Department of Health, said [Tennessee Right to Life President Brian] Harris. “These same employees  spend at least part of every work day promoting and/or participating in abortions at Planned Parenthood … no tax payer should be forced to subsidize the salary of any organization’s employees that participate in the harming of women and the killing of helpless unborn children.

Full story here.

Background story here.

Gov. Haslam’s statement here.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam

Apparently, the effort to keep Tennessee from funding the abortion industry is not yet complete.  I don’t really understand the details.  Last week, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and Speaker of the House Beth Harwell issued this press release:

The confusion surrounding the language in the budget regarding Planned Parenthood has been unfortunate. The Office of Legal Services advised House and Senate leadership that it is unconstitutional to amend general law through the appropriations bill (Article II, Section 17), an interpretation which would have put the entire budget document in jeopardy. It was not our intent to allow funding for Planned Parenthood. Our majority in the General Assembly clearly meant to defund them. We are currently working with pro-life activists to resolve this issue with legislation and we will put it to rest immediately upon the legislature’s return in January.

Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey and Speaker Beth Harwell

 CBR supporter Danny Bullington wrote Gov. Haslam and received this reply:

June 3, 2011

Dear Danny:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns about Planned Parenthood. Listening to and learning from Tennesseans is very important to me, and I am committed to better understanding your concerns.

I am pro-life. I believe in the sanctity of every human life from the moment of conception. I am committed to protecting our traditional values, especially the rights of the unborn, and as Governor I am working to protect those rights.

No state tax dollars go to Planned Parenthood in the budget passed by the legislature this year. The current issue surrounds federal money passing through the state. I do have a line-item veto to reduce or disapprove a sum of money, but removing legal language – which is at the heart of this matter – would require the budget to be re-approved by the legislature, which has already gone out of session.

I am against tax dollars going to Planned Parenthood, and I am disappointed that the circumstances surrounding the state budget do not allow us to prevent this from happening this year. But I am already working with Lt. Gov. Ramsey and Speaker Harwell to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not go to Planned Parenthood in future budgets.

Again, thank you for contacting my office with your concerns, I look forward to working with you and all Tennesseans to make our state an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.

Warmest regards,
Bill Haslam

So, that’s all I’ve got.  But if you need more, try Google; they’ve got a search motor that’s catching on real big.  (Seriously, I think they’re going to make a go of it!)

Shirley Moore models the sign she held at the Planned Parenthood Framing Choice event.

Chris Lefebvre was among the pro-life crowd that attended the Planned Parenthood fundraiser at Market Square on May 6.  Here’s her story.

Hope for the Future

Seven bright-eyed high school students stood in Market Square on a recent Friday night.  Some of them held colorful hand-made signs defending life; others held signs exposing death.  They came to stand with a small group of adults, including at least one post abortive woman.  Together they formed a solemn semi-circle facing the stage where Planned Parenthood was holding its youth photo fundraiser called Framing Choice: What Choice Means to Me.

This small group had made the decision that Planned Parenthood would be confronted wherever they tried to promote their deadly deceptions.  It wasn’t easy to devote a Friday night to standing vigil; some of the folks who passed by made hostile remarks and some gave us disgusted looks.  Many more stopped to inquire and some even thanked us for being there.  Some of the people who browsed the display told us afterward that they had no idea it was a Planned Parenthood event; there were no signs indicating the name of the organization and they were surprised to learn the name from us!

Many of us who were there on Friday night face these kinds of events with a certain degree of trepidation, but it never fails that, when all is said and done, we find abundant blessings in being willing to take a stand.  This event was no different; the questions we were able to answer, the truth that was told about life and death and the seeds planted by that truth will bear fruit in uncountable ways.  The most wonderful blessing of all was the presence of those seven courageous young people.  They give us great hope for the future.

Please pray that God will guard them and add to their number.  Pray also that Planned Parenthood will not go unchallenged whenever and wherever they try to promote their deadly work in our city.

Mobile pregnancy help center saves babies and moms and families in Houston, Texas.

I got this from Michael Silva of Imagi-Motive in Magnolia, Texas. And you thought only Disney had imagineers!

A Mobile Crisis Pregnancy Center

Society is ever-changing. What worked yesterday may not work today, especially when it involves ministry. Of course the message, the truth, remains the same, but the vehicle that we use to deliver the truth often needs a fresh face.

Imagi-Motive is a family-owned company that has a reputation for being innovative in the vehicles they design for extreme tailgaters or companies looking for a mobile marketing solution. However, the Mims family also has a heart for the unborn, and they have put their talents to work in the battle to save lives.

As you may know, Houston, Texas, unfortunately, houses the largest Planned Parenthood facility in the world. However, what may be news to you is how the Houston Coalition for Life is impacting Planned Parenthood‘s efforts. How are they making a difference? With a Mobile Crisis Pregnancy Vehicle!

In mid-January of this year, Imagi-Motive completed the mobile crisis unit, and the Houston Coalition for Life increased their presence in the community. They began seeing dramatic results right away. Within the first twenty-two outings, nearly seventy women had been ministered to, counseled, and given pregnancy tests. And, those who were contemplating an abortion were provided the opportunity to have an ultrasound. Most importantly, the lives of seven babies, who were already scheduled for abortion, were saved. Seven!

But, that is not all. One lady, scared for many reason and struggling with her decision to abort, got up from the abortion table, went back outside to the Mobile Crisis Pregnancy Vehicle, and chose life! All I can say is thank God for this ministry tool!

Imagi-Motive is on a mission to let every crisis pregnancy center in America know about these units and how they help save lives.

In Matthew 28:16-20, we are given The Great Commission by Christ. He instruct us to go—that’s right, go—and make disciples. There are many ways to impact the communities in which we live, and the Mobile Crisis Pregnancy Vehicle helps us achieve this directive.

Praise the Lord for lives saved!

For more information on this ministry tool, contact us at msilva@imagimotive.com.

Michael Silva
Imagi-Motive LLC
Magnolia, Texas

Pro Life activists in Knoxville display Choice signs (at left) and a banner announcing the PP fundraiser.

My trip to Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware continues. More on that later. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Shirley Moore and others took a number of CBR “Choice” signs to a Planned Parenthood fundraiser (PP) at Market Square in downtown Knoxville. Here’s her account:

Framing Choice: What Choice Means to the Victim

Planned Parenthood held their annual FYI Peer-to-Peer fundraiser at Market Square in Knoxville on Friday, May 6. This was held right in the middle of the May edition of Knoxville’s summer monthly First Friday celebrations. The Peers are students trained through 40 hours of exposure to Planned Parenthood ideology and advocacy coaching. They are required to make “100 informal educational contacts with their peers.” These newly designated “sex-perts” promote Planned Parenthood in schools, churches, and anywhere else teens gather. Here is Planned Parenthood’s announcement of the May 6 event:

Framing Choice: What Choice Means to Me

For three years, the teens of FYI have exhibited photography that explores choices in life – a road, a friend, a frame of mind, etc. The framed photos are always thought-provoking. With depth and beauty these Knoxville area teens explain what choice means to them and you have the opportunity to share in that experience. This exhibit promises to challenge and inspire you. In order to make the event a success, we need your help.

There you have it; they needed our help to make the event a success! You don’t have to ask twice! So a few of us borrowed CBR’s “challenging” and “thought-provoking” photographs to set up a display of our own.

Arriving early with the signs, I saw a large man in the PP party eye me suspiciously, even though the pictures were turned face-in, leaning against a tree, and not visible … not yet, anyway. Several of us gathered and waited for the young people to arrive. When those brave young souls entered the Square, we picked up our signs and walked toward the stage. We hoped to inspire a few people to reconsider what “choice” really means, so we held signs that said “Celebrating Choice Means Celebrating This” above the graphic photos of aborted babies.

A dozen of us stood in a semi-circle facing the stage, surrounded on both sides of the Square by diners enjoying a First Friday meal at the many restaurants. Since we were toward the front of the Square and not facing them, the diners appeared to pay little heed. Two of our party stood with their backs to the stage holding a long banner, announcing to those entering the Square from the opposite direction, “Planned Parenthood: the Largest Abortion Provider in the USA.” I think PP should be glad we were there to announce it was a PP event, for they had no signage of their own. No banner proudly heralding their name, no bold identifier … just a humble grey tri-fold display board with the PP logo at the bottom. A few people wandered through the exhibit, never realizing it was a PP event. Why so shy? How popular is that brand, anyway?

Perhaps the large man on stage called the police, because a policeman arrived and stood next to the stage most of the time. Which suited me fine, because some people walking by made comments of the hostile “hit and run” variety. But others were supportive and not afraid to come up and talk. One man said, “I’m against it too, but you shouldn’t be showing those.” And there he was, holding a professional camera with an impressive lens on it, lecturing me about censoring imagery. I thought, “If you’re against it, why not use that lens to stop it?”

A young man on a bicycle whizzed by tossing off a hit-and-pedal remark: “Mind your own business.” But as Jacob Marley’s ghost (A Christmas Carol by Dickens) says,

 ”Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

A professorial woman critiqued our images and explained facts about fetal development to a companion, never meeting our eyes or acknowledging our presence. Invisible as the unborn, I guess.

But the most boisterous reaction was from a musical band of blasphemy singers who took up positions in front of us and played loudly, mocking religion and believers in general, best I could tell. This song of mockery greatly heartened the PP personnel on stage and they came to the edge of the steps, beaming approval.

All in all, I hope PP appreciated our taking the opportunity to “share in that experience.” Anytime they need a banner to herald their name, we’ll be glad to bring one.

Shirley Moore

My name is Shirley Moore and I am a recovering dupe, a victim of deception. Are you one too? I pretended for a hopeful moment that Planned Parenthood (PP) was out of the schools when they were removed from the approved speakers’ list on February 25, 2011.

But parents ought to know they have been covertly embedded for years in the education profession through teachers’ associations, PTA and the family life curriculum. They often play the role of “curriculum guidelines” policeman to maneuver their programs into the schools. It seems to have worked three years ago when they won approval from the Knox County Schools (KCS) to present their marketing pitch to the captive KCS audience.

The fly in the school reformers’ ointment was that they tore the cover off PP by putting them on the approved speakers’ list in 2008. It must have seemed the PP brand was acceptable now as it had never been before (even to Dumb Tennesseans, as one Knoxville News Sentinel letter writer recently called us). But was it really? A fracas ensued in the school administration building when parents discovered their presence in the schools in the fall of 2010.

The questions they raised about their fitness to be there showed it still isn’t a reputable brand. (And even Planned Parenthood supporters get squeamish when their association with them is made too public. That’s why the Life Decisions International Boycott list works…given time and persistent boycott participants.)

By removing all outside groups in the area of sex education, the Superintendent has undercut any abstinence presentations. Since no outside groups are presenting overtly, there will be no apparent need to “opt out.” But “opt out” was always a toothless maneuver as Planned Parenthood’s material and worldview can be woven into as many subjects as possible throughout the school day.

A Planned Parenthood trained teacher can serve it up in subtle ways. It’s called “comprehensive sex education.” Be aware: the hidden hand of Planned Parenthood remains in the KCS schools via teacher training seminars. The Superintendent admitted as much in the WATE-TV interview after the April 6 School Board meeting. It was a “yeah but, no but, yeah but” bumbling statement, but it’s there.

But what does our School Board think? We don’t know. They fired themselves from their jobs in 2008 by signing an agreement with the Superintendent promising not to dissent in public. Odd way to go about Racing to the Top. The top of what? The heap? But what’s in that heap? A heap of parents, the community, and our local democracy, for starters. Evidently, we can’t discuss it in public and that should tell us all we need to know about the secrecy and arrogance operating in this matter.

Shirley Moore
Knoxville, Tennessee

Debbie Picarello and Sandie Sendall speak with UK students about their abortion experiences.

We are so thankful for ministry partners like Deeper Still, an outreach to post-abortive women (and soon post-abortive men as well).  Two of their volunteers, Debbie Picarello and Sandie Sendall, both post-abortive themselves, joined us for GAP at the University of Kentucky.  Debbie shares her experience:

Visiting the University of Kentucky was a wonderful experience.  Sandie Sendall, a friend and past Deeper Still participant, helped man the post-abortion healing table.  Both Sandie and I have experienced the negative consequences of having the “choice” to have an abortion.  We came to offer not only our personal experiences with abortion, but also to offer the hope, healing, restoration, and reconciliation only Jesus can offer.

The Deeper Still table, stationed in between the Planned Parenthood table and the GAP display, gave us plenty of opportunities to speak with college students and older adults.  There were two signs on our table.  One said, “I’ve had an abortion. You can ask me anything.”  The other declared “Freeing the abortion wounded heart…Deeper Still.”

Many students stopped by just wanting to know what Deeper Still was, both pro-lifers and pro-choicers alike.  I had numerous opportunities to share that abortion comes with a very high price tag, a price to be paid for many years to come after the procedure that was supposed to help me “get on with my life”.

This table became a place to come and share personal pain.  One male student’s girlfriend aborted their baby a year ago and he was hurting very badly.  We gave him local info for Rachel’s Vineyard which offers ministry for men.  Deeper Still has the vision to offer free healing retreats for men wounded by abortion, yet currently only offers ministry for women.

Another young woman had been raped and was looking for help.  We referred her to Jane, a GAP volunteer who also worked at one of the crisis pregnancy centers in Lexington.  Jane and Sandy were able to pray with her and exchange contact info.

Another young male college student told us how he was almost the victim of abortion, due to his problematic conception.  He was exceptionally glad that we were all out there standing for life.  Many pro-life students said they were so glad we were there.  We had the opportunity to speak with and challenge protesting medical students, as well as several of the Planned Parenthood students.

We were only 2 of the several post abortive women who volunteered to help with GAP at UK.  I am convinced that having post abortive women and men at these GAP’s strengthens the impact it has.  There is power in personal testimony that could not be refuted.  We left the students with a lot to think about.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg would "give" you your rights, the ones you don't deserve. YIKES!

Sex education isn’t the only thing Planned Parenthood (PP) gets wrong.  They also don’t know where our rights come from.

At a rally to support government funding of PP’s abortion business, Sen. Frank Lautenburg stated that pro-life advocates “don’t deserve the freedoms in the Constitution.”  But, being the generous sort of fellow he is, he would “give it to them anyway.”

Did you catch it?  To Sen. Lautenburg, Constitutional rights are granted by Government (i.e., himself and his cronies).  Some people don’t deserve them, and he knows who they are.  But because he’s such a good guy, he will consent to “give” those rights to pro-lifers.  For now, anyway.

Whatever Government “gives,” it can later withhold.  It can grant or deny rights to whomever it chooses.  Lautenberg claims, for himself and his cronies, the power to choose who gets rights and who doesn’t.

It reminds me of a conversation I had with a TV reporter at the University of Indiana.  He pointed to a US flag flying nearby and said that no matter what we believe, “that flag gives all of us the freedom to speak out.”

We’ll give the reporter a D for his civics grade.  Not quite as bad as Sen Lautenberg, who earned an F minus minus.  At least the reporter did not claim for himself the right to grant/deny the rights of others.  But he still didn’t know where our rights come from.  He, too, thought our rights come from Government.

Our founders knew better:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

See the difference?  The Founders recognized that rights come from our Creator.  Not Government.  Not Frank Lautenberg.  No man may take them away.  Governements are instituted by men, not to grant rights, but as an agent to secure rights already granted by “our Creator.”  Big difference.  Men in government are accountable not only to the people, but to the Creator, for the preservation of justice.  Lautenberg and other Alinskyites believe they are accountable to neither.

So, do you still want Government educating your children?

Planned Parenthood -- Abortion behind your back. Big money for us.

I was disappointed in the Knoxville News Sentinel (KNS) editorial about sex education in Knox County Schools.

I’m not a KNS basher. Some of my conservative friends say it’s a liberal rag. I laugh because I remember what the Charlotte Observer was like, when I lived there in the late 1980s. That paper was comical, sort of a cross between the Washington Post and the old Pravda. But in all my time in Knoxville, KNS has covered my newsworthy activities faithfully and without prejudice. They have accurately printed my letters and I hope they will keep doing so.

But I was disappointed at the misstatements of fact in this editorial, as well as the failure to recognize and address the key issues. Perhaps it’s too much to expect. After all, I struggle to be competent on just one or two subjects. I can’t imagine having to become an expert on a new topic every day.

The most obvious error was the statement that Planned Parenthood (PP) “offers abortion services in some locations across the country but not in Knoxville.” In 2009, the KNS itself reported that PP “will dispense RU486, the ‘abortion pill,’ to women up to nine weeks pregnant.” On their website, PP lists “abortion services” as being offered in Knoxville.

Further, it has been widely reported that PP has directed all of their local affiliates to operate abortion clinics by 2013. That explains why PP’s former office at Downtown West was no longer big enough and they recently moved to a larger space.

Their status as an abortion clinic is a critical fact, because it means that PP stands to make a lot of money by marketing themselves in our schools. This is an outrageous conflict of interest that completely escaped the notice of KNS reporters and editors.

The editorial went on to say that PP’s website “linked to material that was inappropriate for the classroom and could be seen by some parents as offensive.” That’s an astonishing understatement that could have been written only by a person unfamiliar with the PP material. It would be like saying that Pat Summitt “has won a few ball games and could be considered by some fans as an adequate coach.”

Evidence of PP’s criminal behavior all over the US, including their institutional willingness to cover up sexual abuse of minor children, was completely ignored. Nor was it mentioned that PP routinely arranges for judicial bypasses that allow minors to get abortions behind their parents’ backs. Were these deliberate omissions or just plain sloppiness? No rational person could think them unworthy of mention.

The tone of the editorial suggested that the issue at stake was whether or not teens needed to know about sex. I don’t recall anybody on our side of the issue ever suggesting teens should be ignorant on matters of sex. We do, however, oppose the approach to sex that tells 13-year-old children that they might be ready for sex if they “trust each other,” “care about each other,” and “have fun together.” We object to PP’s “anything-goes” approach to sex. And I do mean anything.

To my knowledge, no KNS editor ever spoke with any of the parents about this matter. I don’t know if they interviewed the other side or not. Maybe KNS just takes at face value whatever Dr. McIntyre tells them. Maybe an ad hoc collection of parents just can’t overcome years and years of taxpayer-funded PP propaganda. Maybe KNS is a liberal rag and I’m too naive to see it.

I don’t know, but I have to think KNS could have written a more insightful piece had they bothered to do a little independent research. Speaking with some of the pro-family leaders who raised this issue might have been helped.

KNS, I love you, man, but you really needed to dig deeper on this one.

DOH!

A commenter has brought it to my attention that the article I referenced in a previous posting has been retracted.  Here is the retraction:

Author’s Note: I made a serious error in reporting this column that undermines the conclusion I drew. I compared statistics on contraceptive use from a January 2011 Guttmacher Institute fact sheet to a year 2000 study on the same issue.  However, I did not realize that the 2011 fact sheet derived its statistics from the year 2000 numbers, so my argument was not supported by the data. I am deeply sorry for the error, which invalidates my piece.

First of all, thank you to the commenter for letting us all know of the error.  We always want to get the facts right.  We can’t make rational decisions based on myths and errors.  As Daniel Patrick Moynhan is quoted as saying, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”

I must point out,  however, that some of the statements in the article itself are not without merit.  For example, the statement that 54 percent of women who had abortions had used a contraceptive method in the month they got pregnant came directly from a Planned Parenthood information sheet.  It’s still a sobering number for those who claim that handing out condoms to teenagers will make abortion “rare.”  Yes, the statement is based on data gathered in 2000, but Planned Parenthood is still quoting this number today, so we have no reason to doubt that much has changed.  I referenced this in my previous posting on the relationship between contraception use and abortion.

Christine Lefebvre

Here are Chris Lefebvre’s comments before the Knox County School Board last week.

My name is Christine Lefebvre. I am a mother, grandmother and citizen of Knox County, and I am very concerned about Planned Parenthood’s influence in our schools and how that influence was gained!  From what I have learned it appears that the parents of Knox County students and you, ladies and gentlemen who were elected to represent them, were all excluded from the decision making process that has allowed one of the most controversial organizations in the country free access to our kids, with at least some of the presentations being done without parental knowledge or consent!

Don’t you find that disturbing?

Someone made that decision and I am asking you to get some answers for us.

Who made that decision and were they not aware that undercover investigations all over the country had exposed Planned Parenthood’s systematic undermining of parents rights and the violation of mandatory reporting laws for sexual predators?

Did no one in the administration take the time to review the obscene materials on their teen websites like www.takecaredownthere.org with its “I Didn’t Spew” explicit video depicting a teen boy practicing oral sex on another teen boy?  Did even the mention of that not make you cringe a little inside?  Does it not bother you that our teens, as captive audiences in their own classrooms are being exposed to an organization with that kind of ideology?

Wasn’t anyone concerned about the obvious conflict of interest in allowing an organization that sells abortion into the classrooms of our county to talk to them about sex? And beyond that, doing professional development of our wellness teachers?  And are there going to be any answers forthcoming about who those teachers are who have attended that type of program and whether they will be able to continue advancing  that ideology in their classrooms.  And what monies, if any, were used to pay for Planned Parenthood’s professional development of our teachers?

Did those decision makers not know that PP would be recruiting our teens for their “peer counseling” seminars to  receive 40 hours of in depth sexuality training in the crass ideology that is Planned Parenthood and then  PAID $100.00 a semester after they go back to their schools and make “100 peer contacts” to market that ideology… and the services PP provides?  They will tell you it’s all about teens sharing “life-saving information” with their peers, but their rights based approach to sexual health and their advocacy for removing “ethical barriers,” their history and the services they sell are all of grave concern.  The Boston Globe reported in November that “hundreds of high school students” came to the school board meeting demanding free condoms at all high schools and more comprehensive sex education.  One student was even quoted as saying that it was “sad that schools would rather focus on things like books and tests.” This is a direct result of inculcating teens with that kind of ideology.

Doesn’t it bother you that the administration’s recent decision about this issue relied on a group of experts and does not appear to have involved board members or any concerned members of the community?

There is an even bigger issue at stake here, and that is the betrayal of public trust by this administration and the exclusion of board members and the community from this critical decision.  The solution to teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases lies in more, not less, parental involvement. Something, this experience indicates is not a priority of the administration. Recently the Provincetown, Massachusetts School district approved distribution of condoms for students kindergarten through 12 stating that the district will not honor requests from parents that their children not be given condoms.  Is that where we are headed?

You, ladies and gentlemen, may not have had an opportunity to do much about letting PP into our classrooms, but I trust that once you get the answers to these questions, you will do everything you can to ensure that such a betrayal of our trust and our values will never happen here again.

NOTE:  A commenter has brought it to my attention that the article referenced in this posting has been retracted.  Here is the retraction:

Author’s Note: I made a serious error in reporting this column that undermines the conclusion I drew. I compared statistics on contraceptive use from a January 2011 Guttmacher Institute fact sheet to a year 2000 study on the same issue.  However, I did not realize that the 2011 fact sheet derived its statistics from the year 2000 numbers, so my argument was not supported by the data. I am deeply sorry for the error, which invalidates my piece.

First of all, thank you to the commenter for letting us all know of the error.  We always want to get the facts right.  We can’t make rational decisions based on myths and errors.  As Daniel Patrick Moynhan is quoted as saying, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”

I must point out,  however, that some of the statements in the article itself are not without merit.  For example, the statement that 54 percent of women who had abortions had used a contraceptive method in the month they got pregnant came directly from a Planned Parenthood information sheet.  It’s still a sobering number for those who claim that handing out condoms to teenagers will make abortion “rare.”  Yes, the statement is based on data gathered in 2000, but Planned Parenthood is still quoting this number today, so we have no reason to doubt that much has changed.  I referenced this in my previous posting on the relationship between contraception use and abortion.

ORIGINAL POSTING:

Kirsten Powers, Democrat Strategist

Even the Left is beginning to see Planned Parenthood’s deception.  Here is an article entitled Busting the Birth-Control Myth, written by Kirsten Powers, a former member of the Clinton administration.

I’ll admit I bought the argument—it makes intuitive sense—and initially opposed cutting off [Planned Parenthood] funding for precisely that reason.

Then I did a little research.

***

It’s unclear whether Planned Parenthood officials simply don’t understand statistics or are so accustomed to having their claims unquestioned that they think if they repeat them often enough, the facts will disappear.

***

… their dishonesty in how they present their organization to the public, along with ignoring basic statistics about their area of expertise, makes you wonder what else they are hiding. It’s also hard to deny that they are at core a blindly ideological organization, not a run-of-the-mill charitable nonprofit.

Entire column here.

Jane Bullington

More media coverage for the controversy over the abortion industry in Knox County Schools:

• WATE TV
• Letter to Knoxville News Sentinel

Here are Jane Bullington’s remarks before the school board.

My name is Jane Bullington and I am the mother of 2 children who have gone through the Knox County public school system; I am a taxpayer and a very concerned citizen.

TN state law TCA 49-6-1302 mandates teaching abstinence-based sex education and that the teaching party be “of good public standing”. I believe both of these requirements were violated in Knox County. Parents were excluded from any input into what is being taught, who is doing the teaching. Why is there so much secretiveness around this issue?  If any of us called our School Board member, or our Administration offices or our schools, to ask about the history curriculum or associated guest speakers, we would be answered immediately.  Why can’t we get any straight answers about what is being taught to our students about sex, who is teaching our students about sex, who is training those who will now be teaching our students about sex? Who is profiting from the teaching of sex education in our schools? Planned Parenthood has been presenting, and Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in America; I think we know the answer to the last question.

Trusting the written curriculum depends on the honesty of those developing the curriculum, teaching the curriculum and training the teachers—and I am here to say this organization is not trustworthy.  PP should not be trusted with the health, safety, or morals development of our children.  I am vehemently opposed to an organization with documented legal violations, with an obvious agenda, and with such a gross conflict of interest having access to our students. The curriculum is essentially a sales pitch for Planned Parenthood’s “services”.  It’s called “social marketing” and attitude molding. Michael McGee, VP of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, writes about it in an article called “Social Marketing for Sexual Health”.

Let me show you something about this organization.  This national map pinpoints the locations of the Mona Lisa Project videos, done by Live Action.  The Mona Lisa Project videos document Planned Parenthood’s willingness to repeatedly violate mandatory reporting laws for statutory rape. A series of hidden camera investigations, collected by a team led by Lila Rose in summer 2008, provide the inside story about Planned Parenthood, the abortion industry and its national abuses. Despite a consistent pattern of lawlessness and abuse, Planned Parenthood receives over $363 million from taxpayers each year. This tax-exempt “nonprofit” netted $100 million last year including revenue of over $120 million directly from performing over 305,000 abortions.  Lawlessness, money, and abortions are words that define the organization approved to conduct our students’ sexual education.

In 2011, the emphasis of Live Action investigations changed to Planned Parenthood’s involvement with sex trafficking of young girls.  Here are just a few of the recent headlines:

• 2/10/2011 – DC Planned Parenthood Staffer Counsels Sex-Trafficker How Underage Girls Can Get Abortions And Testing, — No Questions Asked
• 2/8/2011 – Bronx, NY Planned Parenthood Staffer Tells “Pimp” He Can Pose As Guardian To Get Tax Payer Funded Services For Underage Sex Workers
• 2/4/2011 – Pattern Emerges: Three More Virginia Planned Parenthood Clinics Caught On Tape Willing to Aid and Abet Sexual Exploitation of Minors

Additionally, there are lawsuits all across our country, including one in Memphis, that expose the “character and agenda” of Planned Parenthood.  Here are a few:

• An Indiana Planned Parenthood was forced to suspend a counselor shown advising what she thought was a 13-year-old girl to cross state lines for an abortion without informing her parents
• Two Planned Parenthood clinics in Phoenix, AZ were caught on tape concealing statutory rape.
• At the Idaho Planned Parenthood, a caller pretended to be a racist donor who wanted to reduce the number of black people. The Planned Parenthood employee was “excited” to take the donation.

Misappropriation of funds runs rampant in this organization.  Allow me just one example:  In NJ, Audits by the United States Inspector General (IG) uncovered Planned Parenthood has improperly taken Medicaid reimbursement for family planning services for a total of almost $3 million.

Closer to home, on April 20, a counselor at Planned Parenthood in Memphis, TN was caught on hidden camera coaching a 14-year-old girl how to lie to a judge to receive a judicial bypass for an abortion without her parents’ knowledge. She was coached to keep her alleged boyfriend’s age from the judge … 31 years old.

The list could go on, but I will stop here.  I ask you to look at this map, and see the number of problems that I have pinpointed. Why is the School Administration so determined to have PP either inside our schools or influencing those who teach inside our classrooms?  What is their agenda?  Why do they promote an organization that separates children from parents? Planned Parenthood consistently lobbies against parental rights legislation.  Why are parents being left out when it comes to teaching sex ed to their children?  Too many unanswered questions—-and that makes me very nervous.